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Injuries are a tough part of football, and the New Orleans Saints aren’t immune to it. Per a report from Nick Underhill of NewOrelans.Football, defensive lineman Jalen Dalton went down with a serious triceps injury during training camp and is expected to miss the 2020 season.
Dalton was competing for a backup job with teammates like Shy Tuttle, Mario Edwards Jr., Margus Hunt, and Malcolm Roach. Listed at 6-foot-6 and 300 pounds, Dalton was a versatile prospect with experience lining up all across the formation, though his best shot to making the team would have come as a backup for nose tackle Malcom Brown.
While he didn’t crack our latest 53-man roster projection, Dalton was having a solid week of practices. He’s also someone the Saints were invested in; Dalton was one of just four players to return from the 2019 practice squad for the 2020 training camp, having first signed with New Orleans in mid-December. The other remaining members of last year’s practice squad include wide receiver Emmanuel Butler, linebacker Andrew Dowell, and right tackle Derrick Kelly.
Hopefully Dalton can bounce back from this and return to compete with the Saints next summer. He’s just entering his second year in the NFL after splitting time on a couple of different practice squads as an undrafted rookie out of North Carolina, and showed enough potential in practice to warrant another opportunity. Here’s to a smooth recovery for him.
As for the Saints: Dalton’s loss puts them back at 78 roster spots filled out of 80. They recently signed cornerback Kemon Hall to replace veteran corner Johnson Bademosi, whose year ended on injured reserve, and also released linebacker Nigel Bradham, who was outplayed in practice by younger options. With just a few weeks of practice left before the season opener, the Saints may need to move in a hurry to get their roster back to capacity.
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