Tag: 53-man roster

Establishing the 53: Rounding out the Lions’ OL

Examining the Detroit Lions offensive linemen and debating who and how many players they will keep on the 53-man roster.

We are a long way from NFL training camps and even further from the regular season, but it’s never too early to examine and speculate about the Detroit Lions roster. Currently, the Lions have 90-players on their roster, and come September, there will likely be some difficult decisions to make when determining their final 53-players.

Previously, in this series of articles at Lions Wire, we rounded out the running backs group, declared a winner in the fullback versus H-back competition, added an offensive weapon, and in this piece, we will explore the Lions offensive line — projecting who and how many will make the 53-man roster.

Setting the table

Heading into training camp the Lions typically carry 15 offensive linemen so they can roll three offensive line combinations through practices. When it comes time to reduce the roster to 53 players, the Lions have historically kept nine or 10 on the active roster, and then had seven active on game days.

The thought process for who fills those spots roughly breaks down like this: five starters, a swing tackle, a player capable of playing guard and center, a reserve with a high floor, another with a high ceiling, and a potential luxury developmental option.

Returning OL starters

The Lions return three starters on the offensive line — left tackle Taylor Decker, left guard Joe Dahl, and center Frank Ragnow.

Decker and Ragnow are foundation builders and locked in starters. Dahl exceeded expectations in his first year as a starter but will still have to fight to keep his starting job with new blood in town. His positional versatility — he can both guard spots and center — should keep him around even if he is demoted.

Here’s a look at the Lions OL so far:

Left Tackle Left Guard Center Right Guard Right Tackle
Taylor Decker Joe Dahl Frank Ragnow

Erik’s take: I could see Dahl staying put or switching to right guard depending on who else wins a starting job.

Challenging for a starting role

Halapoulivaati Vaitai was one of the Lions top targets in free agency because of his upside and ability to play both tackle spots and inside at guard. Based on how the roster is constructed I am expecting him to step into the open starting spot at right tackle — his best position — barring a surprise push from Tyrell Crosby.

Because of his Vaitai-like positional versatility, Crosby has settled into the Lions’ third offensive tackle spot, and while many will dismiss him as a reserve only, he has started seven games (one at left tackle and six at right tackle) over the last two seasons. Crosby’s ability to step into a starting role at any time and keep the offense on track is a critical role.

The Lions drafted back-to-back guards in the third — Jonah Jackson, IOL — and fourth — Logan Stenberg, LG — rounds. Both will assuredly be given a shot to start, cross-trained at all three interior spots, and it would be surprising if both weren’t locks for the roster. It’s too early to know if either Jackson or Stenberg has a leg up on the starting right guard role, but based on draft selection, let’s give the nod to Jackson for now.

Let’s update the OL depth chart:

Left Tackle Left Guard Center Right Guard Right Tackle
Starters Taylor Decker Joe Dahl Frank Ragnow Jonah Jackson Hal Vaitai
2nd string Tyrell Crosby Logan Stenberg

Erik’s take: I’ll be hard-pressed to take any of these seven out of any of my roster predictions moving forward.

Returning linemen

So far, we have filled the following spots on the checklist: five starters, a swing tackle (Crosby), and a player with a high ceiling (Stenberg). We are still looking for a player capable of playing guard and center, a reserve with a high floor, and a potential luxury developmental option.

Of the remaining eight linemen, Kenny Wiggins has the biggest resume with the Lions. Over the last two seasons, he has been active for 30 games, started 10 games in 2018, and was part of the guard rotation all of last season, starting three games. On paper, Wiggins looks like a front runner for the roster, but his 2020 contract puts that thought on hold. The two years he was heavily involved, Wiggins averaged $2.5 million per year, while this season he only got a one-year $1.05 million vet minimum deal.

The next most notable returning lineman was Oday Aboushi, who was active in seven games last season, starting two. Like Wiggins, Aboushi signed a vet minimum deal with slightly more guaranteed.

The third lineman who spent the entire season on the Lions active roster in 2019 was UDFA rookie guard/center Beau Benzschawel, but he failed to see a single snap on offense. The fact that the Lions kept Benzschawel on the active roster all season with no intention of playing him speaks to how highly they value his upside.

Right tackle Dan Skipper was on the Lions active roster for a week in November and two weeks in December, technically making him a returner but three games hardly assures him anything at this stage.

Matt Nelson, another 2019 UDFA, spent the season on the Lions practice squad adjusting to the offensive side of the ball after playing on the defensive line at Iowa. It would be surprising to see him make a jump to the 53 at this stage in his development, but stranger things have happened.

Let’s update the OL depth chart again:

Left Tackle Left Guard Center Right Guard Right Tackle
Starters Taylor Decker Joe Dahl Frank Ragnow Jonah Jackson Hal Vaitai
2nd string Tyrell Crosby Logan Stenberg Beau Benzschawel Kenny Wiggins Dan Skipper
3rd string Matt Nelson Oday Aboushi

Erik’s take: Benzschawel’s ability to play both guard and center will be a big advantage but he will have to beat out guard/tackle veterans in Wiggins and Aboushi — something he couldn’t do last season.

New additions, plenty of experience

Caleb Benenoch is a right guard/tackle option who was claimed by the Lions with two weeks remaining in the 2019 season but never saw the field in Detroit. However, he did start 22 games over the previous four seasons (mostly at right guard) for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Joshua Garnett was a first-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 2016 and started 11 games for them at right guard as a rookie. He didn’t see the field in 2017, was only active seven games in 2018, and out of the league in 2019, before signing a futures deal with the Lions in January.

Rusell Bodine started 74 games at center over five years (four seasons with Cincinnati and one in Buffalo) but was out of the league in 2019. Like Garnett, he appears to be a player the Lions are willing to test the waters on and see if they have anything left.

Left Tackle Left Guard Center Right Guard Right Tackle
Starters Taylor Decker Joe Dahl Frank Ragnow Jonah Jackson Hal Vaitai
2nd string Tyrell Crosby Logan Stenberg Beau Benzschawel Kenny Wiggins Dan Skipper
3rd string Matt Nelson Oday Aboushi Russell Bodine Joshua Garnett Caleb Benenoch

Erik’s take: At this stage of their careers are any of these three more than name players only?

Narrowing the field

After the initial seven players, the final two/three spots will come down to a few specific battles. We can narrow the field of players based on what we have seen from them in previous years.

Nelson may have upside but nothing at this point indicates he’s ready to step up beyond the practice squad at this time.

Bodine and Garnett weren’t in the league last season, so can they beat out the other five who were on the roster at different points last year? Probably not.

Benenoch and Skipper were only added last season after the Lions suffered injuries and with a healthy group of guard/tackles ahead of them would they be preferred options? Again, probably not.

Conclusion

If we revsit our checklist, we were looking for a player capable of playing guard and center, a reserve with a high floor, and a potential luxury developmental option.

After narrowing the field, we are left with only Benzschawel, Wiggins, and Aboushi to choose from.

The next question becomes, will the Lions keep two or three more offensive linemen? For my money, the Lions need as many spots as possible for offensive skill players and that means they will only keep two more linemen — nine total.

I can’t get away from how the Lions handled Benzschawel last season and my gut says they love his upside, but has he developed enough to beat out high floor veterans Wiggins and Aboushi?

Erik’s prediction: Wiggins was the Lions top interior reserve last offseason and I expect him to return to form and claim the OG3 or 4 job. And for the final spot, I have nothing to base it on other than gut, but give me Benzschawel and his upside to round out the offensive line.

Final 53 projected depth chart:

Left Tackle Left Guard Center Right Guard Right Tackle
Starters Taylor Decker Joe Dahl Frank Ragnow Jonah Jackson Hal Vaitai
2nd string Tyrell Crosby Logan Stenberg Beau Benzschawel Kenny Wiggins Crosby/Wiggins

 

Which Broncos UDFA has the best chance to make the roster?

Which undrafted free agent has the best chance to make the Broncos’ 53-man roster?

From Rod Smith to Chris Harris to Shaq Barrett to Phillip Lindsay, the Denver Broncos have a strong history of signing undrafted free agent gems.

This year, the Broncos signed seven UDFAs: WR Zimari Manning, QB Riley Neal, WR Kendall Hinton, RB LeVante Bellamy, OT Hunter Watts, CB Essang Bassey and DB Douglas Coleman III.

Of those players, who has the best chance to make the 53-man roster?

Let’s start by discussing who has the hardest road to the active roster.

Neal is likely just a camp arm and it will be hard for him to even land on the practice squad. Manning and Hinton will be part of a crowded wide receiver room so they will face long odds to make the team.

Watts seems like an ideal candidate to serve on the practice squad as a rookie. Denver usually has several offensive linemen on the PS each year.

That leaves, Bassey, Coleman and Bellamy.

Bellamy could make the team if Royce Freeman is traded. If Freeman makes the team, though, the Broncos seem unlikely to carry four RBs.

Coleman will have a shot to make the roster as Denver’s fourth-string safety. He’ll be a player to watch for this summer.

Bassey, who was one of the top UDFAs available this year, appears to be the most likely UDFA to make the Broncos’ roster this season. Bassey received a large signing bonus and he plays cornerback, a position where Denver could use more depth.

If only one UDFA makes the Broncos’ roster, it’ll probably be Bassey.

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Establishing the 53: Keeping a 6th WR vs a 4th TE

Examining the Detroit Lions pass-catching options and debating the value of keeping a sixth wide receiver versus a fourth tight end.

We are a long way from NFL training camps and even further from the regular season, but it’s never too early to examine and speculate about the Detroit Lions roster. Currently, the Lions have 90-players on their roster, and come September, there will likely be some difficult decisions to make when determining their final 53-players.

Previously, in this series of articles at Lions Wire, we rounded out the running backs group, declared a winner in the fullback versus H-back competition, and in this piece, we will explore the value of keeping a sixth wide receiver versus a fourth tight end.

Returning WR and TE starters

The Lions return all three wide receiver starters — Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones, and Danny Amendola — and all three are expected to keep there starting spots.

At tight end, Jesse James technically started last season but T.J. Hockenson saw more snaps in 2019, despite missing the final five games of the season. Both return as the Lions top two tight ends, regardless of who starts.

Erik’s prediction: Based on contracts, roles, and talent, all five easily make the 53-man roster.

Key role players

He only played 127 snaps over nine games, but Marvin Hall was the vertical speed option the Lions offense had been searching for all last offseason. The Lions didn’t add another player with a skill set similar to Hall this offseason, indicating he is likely to return to his WR4/5 role.

Like Hall, the Lions don’t have another player like fifth-round pick Quintez Cephus on their roster. An inside-out option who will likely find success in the NFL as a big slot, there was a reason he was targeted in last month’s draft.

In a previous Establishing the 53 article, I laid out my reasoning for keeping Isaac Nauta as a third tight end/H-back option over Nick Bawden, citing positional versatility and health as difference makers.

Erik’s prediction: Hall, Cephus, and Nauta push the Lions pass-catching count to five wide receivers and three tight ends on the 53. Likely leaving, at most, one more skill player that could be added.

In the mix at WR6

With five receivers already locked in, the Lions final six rostered receivers — Geronimo Allison, Chris Lacy, Travis Fulgham, Tom Kennedy, Victor Bolden, and Geremy Davis — will be competing for the sixth wide receiver role. At this point in the offseason, you can probably cut these options in half, leaving the top-3 as realistic competitors.

Lacy and Fulgham battled all camp for a final spot on the roster with Lacy winning out, but only lasting two games on the active roster. He would join Fulgham on the practice squad for the majority of the year, but eventually, both were promoted to the active roster late in the season.

Allison was the Lions’ most notable free-agent wide receiver added this offseason, and like Cephus, he has inside-out potential, but they win in very different ways. His four years of NFL experience gives him a massive edge over Lacy and Fulgham.

Erik’s prediction: Allison is in the lead for the WR6 role but I am not ready to place him on the 53 just yet.

The wild card

A tight end in name only, Hunter Bryant (6-2, 240 pounds) is basically an oversized wide receiver who is a YAC (yards-after-catch) monster in the slot. Defenses will struggle to match up with him and Bryant has the potential to be a true wildcard in this offense.

Bryant gets knocked for his blocking — and rightfully so — but there is a foundation there, and with proper coaching, he should be able to improve his technique.

Erik’s prediction: If Bryant can prove his worth on special teams, he could lock up this final skill player spot early in training camp.

Conclusion

If the Lions are able to keep a WR6 or TE4, in my mind it will likely come down to Allison versus Bryant. Allison’s experience, ability to line up at multiple spots on the field, and contribute on special teams will be very appealing to the Lions, but Bryant’s upside may be too good to pass up.

At this point on the roster, the Lions are looking at a player who would likely see five to eight snaps a game, and would ideally someone who can give them an advantage every time they see the field.

Erik’s prediction: I’ll take the matchup nightmare, give me Bryant on the 53.

Establishing the 53: Weighing the options of keeping a FB vs an H-B

Examining the Detroit Lions roster, specifically the fullbacks and H-backs, and determining which has the best chance to make the 53-man roster.

We are a long way from NFL training camps and even further from the regular season, but it’s never too early to examine and speculate about the Detroit Lions roster. Currently, the Lions have 90-players on their roster, and come September, there will likely be some difficult decisions to make when determining their final 53-players.

Previously, in this new series of articles at Lions Wire, we rounded out the running backs group, and in this piece, we will take a deeper look at the players who complement them — the fullbacks and H-backs.

What happened in 2019?

After missing his rookie season will a torn ACL, Nick Bawden appeared to be a man with a purpose during training camp. Goal-line carries, swing passes, button hooks, and of course lead blocking, Bawden was deployed in several situations, especially near the goal line. Surprisingly, all of that disappeared — save lead blocking — once the regular season rolled around.

Bawden saw 125 snaps on offense, had zero rushing attempts, four receptions for 17 yards, and graded out (per Pro Football Focus) as a well above average pass blocker and underperforming run blocker.

In Week 11, Bawden went down with another knee injury, was placed on injured reserve, and was replaced in the lineup with rookie tight end/H-back Isaac Nauta.

Nauta would go on to see 41 offensive snaps over the final six games — 34 came as an H-back –, he recorded two receptions for 13 yards, graded out (per PFF) as an above-average pass blocker and was average as a run blocker.

At-a-glance comparison:

Games played Off. snaps per gm Rec per gm Yards per rec Pass Protection Run blocking
Bawden 10 12.5 0.4 4.25 Well above average Below average
Nauta 6 6.83 0.33 6.5 Above average Average

Bawden was the Lions’ first choice last season and when he saw that field he slightly outproduced Nauta in each category, save the most important — run blocking. Nauta didn’t light the world on fire as a run blocker either though and he was below Bawden in most of the above categories, but he deserves some leeway as he was a rookie and playing out of his natural tight end position.

Special teams

The numbers on special teams also slightly favor Bawden. He played in all four phases — kick coverage, kick blocking, punt coverage, and punt blocking — and averaged 17.8 special teams snaps per game.

Nauta averaged 13.7 special teams snap over his six games, and while he started out participating in all four phases, his numbers are lower than Bawden’s mostly because he was removed from the kick-off coverage unit over the final four games.

From a performance perspective, both were close in their PFF grades with Bawden getting the slight edge.

Conclusion

This will likely be one of the closer battles in training camp and could easily come down to overall team philosophies on offense and special teams. Do they want a bruising lead blocker or a positional flexible option?

Based on what we saw in 2019, Bawden appears to be the preferred option and it wouldn’t be at all surprising if he opens up camp with an impactful role. The main factor keeping him from being locked into the roster is he is a fullback only on offense, and he has had two significant knee injuries in as many years.

Meanwhile, Nauta has been fully available, showed he has the potential to fill two roles on offense — as a third (blocking) tight end and H-B –, as well as a contributor on special teams, and it’s reasonable to expect his game to grow as he develops in his sophomore season.

At the end of the day, this is a specialty position (7-12 offensive snaps a game) and in order to fill it, you need to be one of two things: flexible enough to fill more than just one role, and/or elite at what you do.

Bawden may be better at what he does than Nauta is right now, but because he is limited in his roles, he needs to be exceptional at them — which, save pass pro, he is not at this time.

Erik’s prediction: Unless Bawden enters camp and blows it up, Nauta’s position flexibility and availability likely carries an advantage at that’s why he gets my nod for the 53, sending Bawden to the practice squad.

Establishing the 53: Rounding out the Lions’ backfield

Examining the Detroit Lions running backs room to determine how many players from this group could make the 53-man roster.

We are a long way from NFL training camps and even further from the regular season, but it’s never to early to examine and speculate about the Detroit Lions roster. Currently, the Lions have 90-players on their roster, and come September, there will likely be some difficult decisions to make when determining their final 53-players.

This article is the first in a new series of articles at Lions Wire called “establishing the 53”, where we will be examining a Lions’ position group, predicting the Lions’ strategy, and projecting the players who have an inside track for the regular-season roster.

In this piece, we will take a deeper look at the Lions’ running backs.

Easy decisions at the top of the RB group

The Lions have a clear 1-2 punch combo at the top of their running backs group after returning starter Kerryon Johnson and drafting D’Andre Swift in the second-round (pick 35 overall). The only debate involving these two will be over which one starts.

Erik’s prediction: Johnson and Swift make the 53, Johnson starts Week 1

1st down thumper

While K.Johnson and Swift are capable of playing on all three downs, the Lions want to rely on an early-down thumper, and the fact that they didn’t add one in the offseason, speaks volumes about how they feel about Bo Scarbrough. Unless his production falls off a cliff in the pre-season, the smart money is on him beginning the regular season as RB3.

Wes Hills will also challenge for this role but he is still rough around the edges and was outperformed by Scarbrough in 2019. He has NFL potential and his talent is worth continuing to develop but he may need more time.

Erik’s prediction: Scarbrough makes the 53, Hills to the practice squad

Will the Lions keep four or five RBs?

If the Lions only keep four running backs there will be a strong camp battle between last year’s sixth-round draft pick Ty Johnson and this year’s fifth-round draft pick Jason Huntley.

Let’s take a look at their athletic profiles:

Height Weight 40-yard-dash Burst score
Ty Johnson 5106 213 4.4 120.15
Jason Huntley 5084 182 4.4 132.65

Both can burn up the turf, catch passes, and are capable kick returners — something an RB4/5 needs to be able to do to make the back end of a roster.

The first big advantage for T. Johnson has over Huntley is his deceptive size. He has proven he can hold up in the NFL, his year experience (63 rushes and 24 receptions) cannot be undervalued, and his improvement as the season progressed is worth noting.

Meanwhile, Huntley is roughly the same size at J.D. McKissic but faster and more explosive. Huntley can step right into the role McKissic has last season as a jitterbug runner with dynamic pass-catching skills out of the backfield (he had 134 career catches at NMST), while also legitimately challenging Jamal Agnew for kick return duties (he had five kick off returns for touchdowns in college).

Erik’s prediction: Lions keep five backs, both T. Johnson and Huntley make the 53

Erik’s Reasoning

Five backs may seem like a lot but you don’t draft four running backs in three years — two in the second-round at that — unless you plan on using them. The Lions are also a team desperate to establish the run, have injury concerns with several of their top options, and Swift/Huntley’s elite pass-catching skills will allow the Lions to potentially go with fewer bodies at other offensive skill positions.

Chiefs UDFA DE Tershawn Wharton ready to show NFL he belongs

A Division II football standout, Tershawn Wharton is out to earn a spot on the Kansas City Chiefs’ 53-man roster.

The Kansas City Chiefs have brought in many undrafted free agents to fill out their 90-man offseason roster, but none are as intriguing as defensive end Tershawn Wharton. A record-setting performer at Division II Missouri S&T, Wharton’s stats jump off the page with 58 tackles for loss and 35.5 sacks in his career.

Meeting with the Chiefs’ media on Wednesday, Wharton admitted that he wasn’t always the player that he is today.

“I feel like coming out of high school I wasn’t overlooked; I was kind of undersized,” Wharton told reporters in a conference call. “Nobody knew the potential that I had. I feel like it was an opportunity that I just took and ran with.”

Even with his performance in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, Wharton making it to the NFL is a rarity. He credits his opportunity at the East-West Shrine Game for helping to put him on the map.

“I think it was very challenging coming from a small school,” Wharton said. “I was lucky enough that I was one of the players that got put into the East-West Shrine Game from a smaller school. Coming out of Division II you’ve got to dominate at that level to be seen. I was able to do that and then going to the East-West Shrine Game and just showing that I’m capable of playing with the upper-level guys at the Division I schools.”

Wharton was a bit surprised to get the invite to the All-Star Game, but in the end, he was very pleased with his experience.

“Very surprising,” Wharton said. “Coming from S&T not too many people have been in the bowl games like that. I wasn’t even aware of those types of games until my senior year and my coaches told me they were looking into me and asking about me. The coaching [at the East-West Shrine Bowl] was very well done, just hearing it from a different group. At S&T I was taught by the same coach for a long time, so I think it really helped out. I just wish I had more time with a coach at that level.”

The eagerness to learn is something that comes easily to Wharton. He’s a hard worker both on and off the field. He believes that work ethic is what helps him find such success on the field.

“I think as a player I like to work hard on the field as much as I like to work hard anywhere else,” Wharton said. “Those stats come from just grinding out and fighting through everything. As far as on the field, no one knows what is going to come. I feel like I have a lot of learning to do to become a better player at the next level.”

Wharton also prides himself on being a very coachable player. He’s not someone that you’ll find freelancing often, but instead, he sticks to the coaching plan and practices what his coaches preach. In the limited interactions that he’s had so far with Chiefs defensive line coach Brendan Daly thus far, Wharton has come away impressed with Daly’s coaching style.

“So far with what he’s been teaching me, I think I’m going to like him a lot,” Wharton said. “He’s very to the point and he’s willing to help you and teach you. So far I think it’ll be good and I’m ready to get on the field with him. I like his energy a lot.”

Wharton grew up just four hours away from Kansas City in University City, Missouri. He was a Rams fan growing up, but don’t hold that against him. The vicinity to home played a part in his decision to join the Chiefs, mainly because he wants his family to be able to witness his journey.

“Signing to a team that close to my hometown is good for my family,” Wharton said. “They’ll be able to see me play, and all my friends and family are still there. A lot of people want to live this out so I can play for them as well.”

Wharton has a tough road ahead of him toward making the Chiefs’ 53-man NFL roster, but he’s already beaten the odds by getting to this moment. Don’t count him out when it comes to proving his doubters wrong in the next step of his journey.

Way-too-early 53-man roster prediction for the Vikings

We get it. It’s early, but here some predictions about what the 53-man Vikings roster could look like.

The Vikings 2020 roster is shaking up to be quite different than how it looked in 2019.

Minnesota drafted 15 players in the recent NFL Draft, the most ever by a team in the seven-round format. The Vikings added some talent who could come in and start, while others can possibly beat out incumbent reserves for a spot on the depth chart. Minnesota added players at positional needs such as wide receiver, cornerback and offensive line.

There will also likely be so me rookies who don’t make the team, considering there were so many Vikings rookies drafted on the third day. So, that got us at Vikings Wire thinking, what will Minnesota’s 53-man roster look like?

There’s a lot of time for players to prove themselves and make the team, but it’s interesting to look at how the team could present itself in 2020, especially with all the new faces.

Here are the choices we made:

*: Denotes a player who is at multiple positions on the depth chart.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10, Page 11, Page 12, Page 13, Page 14

Broncos will have larger roster and practice squad under new CBA

Under the NFL’s new CBA, the Broncos’ roster and practice squad will grow larger in the coming years.

NFL players voted to approve a new CBA on Sunday, paving the way for the league to make several big changes in the coming years.

Among the most notable changes are adjustments to rosters and practice squads. The team’s regular season roster of 53 players will be expanded to 55 players and game day rosters will increase from 46 players to 48 players over the next few seasons.

Additionally, practice squads will increase from 10 players to 12 players with the possibility of expanding to 14 players within a few years. Practice squad players will now also see an increase of pay by $2,500 per week.

The increased roster and practice squad sizes will give the Broncos more depth for expanded seasons. Starting next year, the regular season will be expanded to 17 games. The playoffs will also increase by one team per conference, with that change also taking place next season.

To read more about the biggest changes in the CBA, click here.

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Saints make several roster moves before Week 17, waive DeShawn Shead

The New Orleans Saints promoted practice squad Lil’Jordan Humphrey and re-signed Ricky Ortiz, but waived Michael Ola and DeShawn Shead.

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The New Orleans Saints made a handful of roster moves on Saturday, just a day before their Week 17 kickoff with the Carolina Panthers. ESPN’s Mike Triplett and Nola.com’s Amie Just first reported the transactions.

Two players were waived from the active roster, including veteran offensive tackle Michael Ola and recently-signed defensive back DeShawn Shead.

In their place, the Saints called up practice squad wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey and brought back fullback Ricky Ortiz. Ortiz spent a few weeks on the Saints practice squad from Nov. 22 to Dec. 4, while Humphrey was promoted to the active roster for several games earlier this year.

These moves were likely made in response to a number of still-developing injury situations for New Orleans. All-star left tackle Terron Armstead was not listed on the Saints injury report this week after spending the better part of a month recovering from a high-ankle sprain, making Ola’s spot on the roster unnecessary.

On top of that, Saints fullback Zach Line was a sudden addition to Friday’s injury report, while dealing with a knee injury. He was sidelined for a few recent games with the same issue, so Ortiz’s addition probably signals that Line will be unavailable against Carolina.

As for Humphrey’s call-up: the Saints designated reserve wideout Krishawn Hogan to the injured reserve list after last week’s win over the Tennessee Titans, opening up a spot on the active roster. Hogan was predominately used as a blocker, which Humphrey may be better-suited for than fellow rookie Emmanuel Sanders.

Shead’s release is puzzling, though. The Saints are going to be without three of their top defensive backs (including safeties Vonn Bell and Marcus Williams, and cornerback Eli Apple) so having someone with experience at several positions would have been useful. This could mean that they like their depth in the secondary well enough and weren’t expecting Shead to play much in his first week on the job anyway. It’s possible he returns after this game, however, but by no means is that a sure thing.

So now the Saints 53-man roster is back at capacity, while the practice squad has one open spot. Stay tuned to see what the Saints choose to do next.

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Saints fill two practice squad vacancies, sign D.J. Swearinger after tryouts

The New Orleans Saints held free agent tryouts and signed S D.J. Swearinger. DT Jalen Dalton and DB Chris Johnson joined the practice squad.

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The New Orleans Saints called up two players form their practice squad for Monday night’s game with the Indianapolis Colts, promoting defensive tackle Taylor Stallworth and safety T.J. Green. Green was waived on Wednesday to open up a roster spot for veteran safety D.J. Swearinger, who took part in a group workout at the Saints practice facility. Per a report from Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, that list included:

  • DB Kentrell Brice, Louisiana Tech
  • DL Jalen Dalton, North Carolina
  • DL Mike Hughes, UNLV
  • DB Chris Johnson, North Alabama
  • DB Derrick Kindred, TCU
  • DL Tomasi Laulile, BYU
  • DB Deshawn Shead, Portland State
  • DB Tre Sullivan, Shepherd
  • DB D.J. Swearinger, South Carolina

While Swearinger signed with the Saints as a member of the 53-man active roster, New Orleans filled their two vacancies on the practice squad by signing Dalton and Johnson.

Dalton (6-foot-6, 300 pounds) is a rookie defensive tackle/end hybrid who can line up almost anywhere up front. He initially signed with the Chicago Bears after the 2019 NFL Draft, but was released during September roster cuts and hadn’t yet caught on with another team. With Sheldon Rankins ending his year on injured reserve and Stallworth called up to the active roster, the Saints needed someone to fill out snaps in practice.

Johnson (6-foot-3, 200 pounds) is also a rookie, though the small-school safety spent his summer with the Houston Texans before joining their practice squad after annual roster cuts. He was briefly a member of the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad before they released him as part of other personnel changes. Players signed onto NFL practice squads around this time of the year typically agree to futures contracts with those teams, but it’s unclear whether that’s the case with these two additions for the Saints.

All told, these signings bring the Saints practice squad back up to its 10-man capacity. Dalton and Johnson will join wide receivers Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Emmanuel Butler, running back/wide receiver Taquan Mizzell, offensive linemen Derrick Kelly and John Leglue, linebacker Andrew Dowell, tight end Jerrell Adams, and tight end/defensive lineman Mitchell Loewen.

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