Here’s the next man up. The New Orleans Saints had a spot open on their 53-man roster with rookie cornerback Alontae Taylor going on injured reserve (he injured his knee in practice on Sept. 22), so they’ve signed first-year corner DaMarcus Fields up from their practice squad. Initially picked up as an undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech, Fields was elevated for last week’s game with the Carolina Panthers in Taylor’s place. Now, instead of earning $13,803 a week on the practice squad, Fields will now reel in $41,470 as a member of the 53-man roster.
He’s also won a path to getting on the field in Taylor’s role with the special teams units; he ran with the punt return and punt coverage squads last week, as well as the field goal blocking team. Marshon Lattimore, Bradley Roby, and Paulson Adebo are still ahead of Fields on the defensive depth chart, but if he can continue to work for reps in the kicking game he could stick around.
As for Taylor: it’s still unclear whether this is a season-ending injury, and the decision to promote Fields now doesn’t really give us an idea of his timetable. Players must sit out at least four weeks on the injured reserve list before being reactivated, and teams are allowed to elevate a practice squad player for three games each season before being forced to sign them to the 53-man roster. Those two time limits don’t really mesh. We’ll keep an eye out for updates on Taylor’s status.
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