2020 Saints roster locks, long-shots, and those on the roster bubble

The New Orleans Saints have assembled a talented 90-man roster for the 2020 season, but which players are locks, long shots, and on the edge

The New Orleans Saints are at capacity with their 90-man roster, set to carry a talented group of players through the summer and into training camp. But just 53 of them will be retained for the season’s opening kickoff, with a dozen players hoping to clear waivers and return on the practice squad (per new CBA rules, two practice squad players each week may be promoted to the active roster on game days. It’s more confusing than it needs to be).

But which Saints players are in best position to make the team? Which of them are out on the fringe, on the roster bubble? And who faces the longest odds of making the cut? Here’s a position-by-position preview, starting with the quarterbacks:

Quarterbacks

Locks:

Drew Brees
Taysom Hill
Jameis Winston

On the bubble:

Tommy Stevens

The top three passers are locked in, with Hill and Winston setting themselves up to compete for the starting job once Brees has spun his last football in New Orleans. It’s as impressive a depth chart you’ll find around the NFL, regardless of position. How many teams can say their third-stringer is a Heisman Trophy winner?

Stevens is a curiosity. If he can do an admirable job filling in for Hill as a runner and receiver (and maybe on special teams), he might stick around on the 53-man roster. He might pass through waivers and land on the practice squad, but it doesn’t feel like the Saints traded back into the draft just to give up on him after a few weeks in training camp.

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Broncos waive 4 players to make room for UDFA signings

The Broncos waived four players on Monday.

After agreeing to terms with seven undrafted free agents, the Denver Broncos had to open up four spots on the 90-man offseason roster.

Denver waived safety Tyvis Powell, tight end Bug Howard and defensive linemen Deyon Sizer and Jay-Tee Tiuli, the team announced Monday.

Howard played in the AAF last spring and spent part of the 2019 season on the Broncos’ practice squad. Powell also spent time on the practice squad last season, as did Sizer and Tiuli.

Sizer played in one game last season, recording one tackle in a 23-3 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in December.

After the draft, Denver signed quarterback Riley Neal, running back Levante Bellamy, offensive tackle Hunter Watts, cornerback Essang Bassey, safety Douglas Coleman III and wide receivers Zimari Manning and Kendall Hinton. Bassey was one of the top UDFAs available.

The Broncos also selected 10 players in this year’s NFL Draft.

Denver’s staff will now turn its attention toward the team’s virtual offseason program, which began Monday. Players will participate in virtual meetings and workouts with the team’s coaching staff.

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Will the Saints make another run at signing recently-cut Josh Norman?

The New Orleans Saints tried to sign Josh Norman once before, and he’s now available again after the Washington Redskins reportedly cut him.

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The Washington Redskins are reportedly releasing veteran cornerback Josh Norman, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. Norman was due more than $15 million against the 2020 salary cap, but his sagging level of play made it unlikely that he would reunite with new head coach Ron Rivera, who worked with him on the Carolina Panthers earlier in Norman’s career.

It creates an interesting situation for the New Orleans Saints, for several reasons. Norman only signed with Washington in the first place simply because they beat the Saints to the punch — New Orleans was the second team to approach Norman about joining them when the Panthers rescinded the franchise tag back in 2016. Saints recruiting efforts had reached contract restructuring discussions with Drew Brees to make room for Norman beneath the salary cap before he ultimately chose to move to D.C.

However, Norman is a very different player now than he was then. He’s 32 and coming off one of his worst years as a pro, having received a Pro Football Focus grade of 45.6; that ranks 111 out of 113 qualifying cornerbacks. If the Saints were to pursue Norman, they would be unlikely to offer him a starting job. He certainly won’t have leverage to ask for significant contract demands.

That said: it’s not impossible to imagine the Saints making a run at him. New Orleans has just three cornerbacks under contract right now, and two of them could be salary cap casualties themselves. Releasing Janoris Jenkins would free up $11.25 million, while cutting Patrick Robinson would make $3.65 million in cap space. The Saints are at a point where they simply need to start adding warm bodies to the depth chart, and it’s no guarantee that starters Eli Apple and P.J. Williams return after testing the free agent market. The Saints have started worse players than Norman, who we have to stress would probably be seen as a backup.

There’s one more wrinkle to consider. Because Norman was released outright, he won’t count against the compensatory draft pick formula for 2021. While the Saints rarely qualify for compensatory picks due to their activity in free agency, their abundance of expiring contracts means they could have a quieter offseason than usual this year. They could check off the “add a veteran cornerback” box on their list of offseason needs by signing Norman and still recoup a draft pick next year should in-house free agents like Teddy Bridgewater or Vonn Bell leave for new teams.

Of course, the argument against signing Norman is that he’s very much near the end of his career. The Saints could use the resources in signing him to add a younger player with a higher ceiling, or bring back someone like Apple or Williams. Just two years ago they believed signing Kurt Coleman in similar circumstances would give the secondary some much-needed experience and playmaking ability on the back end, but he was a liability by midseason. That could be a cautionary tale still fresh in the minds of Saints shot-callers like Sean Payton.

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Ranking the Saints defensive position groups going into 2020 offseason

Which position group reigns supreme for the New Orleans Saints defense, and where must they add upgrades? Cornerback, linebacker stand out.

The New Orleans Saints have a number of questions to ask themselves this offseason, many of them surrounding starters headed for free agency either this March or next year. Most of those starters play defense, including names like cornerback Eli Apple, safety Vonn Bell, defensive tackle David Onyemata, and linebacker A.J. Klein.

While the defense came up short in the playoffs, it’s arguably been a more consistent unit than the lauded Saints offense the last few years, especially in the postseason. But should the Saints look to maintain consistency on that side of the ball or instead pursue upgrades?

To help find out, we’ve ranked each defensive position group, taking stock of where they stand going into the offseason:

Cornerbacks

Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

The Saints have just three corners under contract right now: Marshon Lattimore, Janoris Jenkins, and Patrick Robinson. Lattimore is one of the best (if somewhat high-variance) young cover corners in the league, and the decision to pick up his fifth-year option for 2021 is a no-brainer. But it’s less clear whether the Saints should keep veterans like Jenkins and Robinson around on their bloated salaries. And the lack of depth behind them doesn’t add any clarity. This is a position the Saints must invest in, whether it means retaining mainstays like Apple and P.J. Williams or bringing in new faces.

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