Tag: 53-man roster

Saints designate Keith Kirkwood to return from injured reserve

The New Orleans Saints started a 21-day countdown for wide receiver Keith Kirkwood to practice with the team and return from injured reserve

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Reinforcements might be on the way for the New Orleans Saints wide receiver corps. Second-year pro Keith Kirkwood practiced on Wednesday, hours after Saints coach Sean Payton commended his progress in recovering from an early-season hamstring injury. Kirkwood has been on the shelf since hurting himself in pregame warmups back in Week 2, but the Saints designated him to return from injured reserve on the official league transactions wire.

This starts the clock on a 21-day window for Kirkwood to practice and be promoted to the 53-man roster, or else revert to the injured reserve list. It’s unclear which game the Saints are targeting in-house for him to make his return, though the earliest he’d be eligible would be Week 13’s game with the Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 28, per NFL rules.

If Kirkwood is able to suit up again this season, it’s easy to see how he could help the team. They have a wide-open void at the wide receiver position opposite Michael Thomas, who has caught 86 of the groups’ 116 receptions this year. The Saints weren’t able to find any last-minute upgrades at the NFL trade deadline, so Kirkwood might be their last remaining hope for to receiving corps to suddenly improve.

Teams are allowed to bring back two players from injured reserve each season, though it’s tough to say which Saints players may qualify. We can parse the list down a bit, however, because NFL rules stipulate only players who started the year on the 53-man roster may return from injured reserve later that season. That excludes most of the players on the list, which you can find below:

 

  • C/G Cameron Tom (ineligible)
  • LB Alex Anzalone
  • LB Kaden Elliss
  • LB Colton Jumper (ineligible)
  • LB Josh Martin (ineligible)
  • TE Garrett Griffin (ineligible)
  • WR Keith Kirkwood (designated to return)

Payton said earlier this year that starting middle linebacker Alex Anzalone would miss the rest of the season after shoulder surgery, so he won’t be a candidate. That leaves rookie linebacker Kaden Elliss as the only option left, but he tore his ACL on Sept. 22. There’s no way he’ll be recovered from that in time to play later this season. So don’t expect anyone but Kirkwood to return from injured reserve in 2019.

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Tight end Ed Dickson should be activated with Luke Willson injured

With tight end Luke Willson now out with a hamstring injury, Seattle Seahawks will likely activate Ed Dickson back to the 53-man roster.

The Seattle Seahawks just continue to suffer injuries at the tight end position. In Week 10 against the San Francisco 49ers, Luke Willson left the game with a hamstring injury and was unable to return leaving Jacob Hollister as the team’s only true tight end on the roster.

Willson had been battling a rib injury heading into the contest.

“Luke’s got a legit hamstring – legit meaning that it’s not just a little cramp or something,” coach Pete Carroll said Tuesday after Willson had been further evaluated. “It showed up in the MRI testing of it. But it might be a couple weeks for him, we’ll just have to wait and see.”

With Willson potentially out for the near future, the Seahawks will look to tight end Ed Dickson for additional support at the spot. Dickson, who is now eligible to be activated back from the injured reserve, should be healthy to play.

“Yes, he’s ready to go,” Carroll confirmed. “Fortunately, if Luke is unable to play then we would like to think we can go right to Ed and get him going.”

Dickson has been able to practice with the team but must be added back to the 53-man roster before he can make his 2019 season debut.

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