Tag: Moves

Saints waive running back Tony Jones Jr. to make room for another offensive lineman

The Saints waived running back Tony Jones Jr. to make room on the 53-man roster for another offensive lineman, promoting Tommy Kraemer from their practice squad:

The New Orleans Saints waived running back Tony Jones Jr. to make room on the 53-man roster for another offensive lineman, promoting Tommy Kraemer from their practice squad — meaning they’ll go into Week 5’s matchup with the New England Patriots while dangerously thin at running back.

Now that Jones (whose pair of touchdown runs in Week 2 make up half of the Saints’ offensive touchdowns scored this season) is off the roster, New Orleans is left with just two running backs available to play Sunday at New England: Alvin Kamara (49 snaps last week) and Kendre Miller (5 snaps in Week 4). Jones was limited to just 11 snaps on offense last Sunday once Kamara returned from suspension. It’ll be a few more weeks until Jamaal Williams is eligible to return from injured reserve.

As for Kraemer: the former Detroit Lions backup worked at both guard spots for the Saints this summer, primarily on the right side. He was quickly re-signed to the practice squad after roster cuts in August and has hung around ever since. The Saints could be thin at guard with Andrus Peat (concussion) and James Hurst (hip) both questionable to play tomorrow due to injuries, so Kraemer’s services may be needed. Their only other healthy guards are Cesar Ruiz, part-time center Max Garcia, and rookie draft pick Nick Saldiveri.

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Saints sign former Browns first-round OL Cam Erving

NOF’s Nick Underhill reports the Saints have signed former Browns first-round pick Cam Erving to their practice squad, improving depth along the offensive line:

New Orleans.Football’s Nick Underhill reports the Saints have signed free agent offensive lineman Cam Erving to their practice squad, improving depth along the line. They had an open spot after waiving pass rusher Terrell Lewis, with just two other offensive linemen on the practice squad: former Detroit Lions backups Tommy Kraemer and undrafted rookie Mark Evans II, who recently returned to the team after being let go during roster cuts.

Erving was one of four free agents the Saints brought in for a group workout. Here’s what we wrote about Erving after his tryout last week:

“Erving, 31, was also picked in the 2015 draft out of Florida State — but he was a first rounder with the Cleveland Browns. He won a Super Bowl championship with the Kansas City Chiefs and has also made stops with the Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers during his 95-game career (56 starts), predominately lining up at left tackle (1,514 career snaps) and left guard (1,156) while sometimes getting looks at center and right guard. He’s only logged 41 snaps at right tackle in the NFL.”

Erving likely won’t see many snaps (if any) in the immediate future with the top of the depth chart set, but right guard Cesar Ruiz missed last week’s game with a concussion and it’s unclear when he’ll be able to return to the lineup. In the meantime, look for the Saints to continue to start Trevor Penning and Ryan Ramczyk at tackle with Andrus Peat, Erik McCoy, and James Hurst manning the interior. They’ve activated backups Max Garcia and Nick Saldiveri (at guard) as well as Landon Young (at tackle) during Ruiz’s absence.

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Saints open a spot on their practice squad by releasing Terrell Lewis

The Saints opened a spot on their practice squad by releasing defensive end/linebacker Terrell Lewis. Who are they adding?

The New Orleans Saints opened a spot on their practice squad by releasing hybrid defensive end/linebacker Terrell Lewis, per Monday’s update to the daily NFL transactions wire.

Lewis was signed after Week 1 to help the team prepare for games with the Carolina Panthers, Green Bay Packers, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so they’re now going in a different direction. Niko Lalos and Jaylon Smith are still on the practice squad, as is Anfernee Orji.

Who could they be adding? The Saints hosted a group workout for four offensive linemen last Thursday and it’s likely one of them is going to be signed to reinforce the depth chart; you can read more on the tryouts here.

The offensive line did improve in Sunday’s loss to the Buccaneers, relative to what we’d seen before, but you can always use better depth. Right now the Saints have just two blockers on the practice squad in Tommy Kraemer and the recently re-signed Mark Evans II.

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With injuries mounting in the secondary, Saints elevate two practice squad DB’s

With injuries mounting in the secondary, the Saints elevated two practice squad defensive backs for Week 4’s Buccaneers game:

With injuries mounting in the secondary, the New Orleans Saints elevated two practice squad defensive backs for Week 4’s game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Starting free safety Marcus Maye is still away from the team during his three-game suspension, and his backup Jordan Howden was pre-emptively ruled out for Sunday’s game due to a finger injury. Starting cornerback Paulson Adebo is out with a hamstring injury, too.

So here’s what you need to know about the guys helping to fill in for them: Johnathan Abram and Cameron Dantzler Sr.:

Saints bring back undrafted rookie OL Mark Evans II to their practice squad

Here’s the offensive line depth fans asked for. The Saints brought back Mark Evans II to their practice squad, one of their highest-paid undrafted rookies:

Here’s the offensive line depth fans asked for. The New Orleans Saints brought back Mark Evans II to their practice squad, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. Evans was one of their highest-paid undrafted rookies coming out of college at Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Terron Armstead’s alma mater), but the Saints moved him inside to guard rather than his college position at left tackle. He was let go during roster cuts in August.

So he probably isn’t going to challenge anyone in the starting lineup. The Saints now have Ryan Ramczyk, Trevor Penning, and Landon Young on the 53-man roster at offensive tackle with Cesar Ruiz, James Hurst, Andrus Peat, and Nick Saldiveri at guard. Erik McCoy has been backed up by Max Garcia as the eighth active lineman on game days. Evans and Tommy Kraemer, both guards, are on the practice squad.

Saints fans have been clamoring for more help in the trenches, and for good reason. Their quarterbacks have been sacked a dozen times through the first three games and Derek Carr is currently on the mend after injuring his throwing shoulder during one of those takedowns. But it’s unrealistic to look for a big shakeup at this point in the season. Any other additions the team makes will probably look a lot like Evans: a developmental player to stash on the practice squad rather than someone ready to start a full game against NFL-quality pass rushers.

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Report: Saints bringing veteran safety Daniel Sorensen back to their practice squad

Report: Saints bringing veteran safety Daniel Sorensen back to their practice squad, adding experienced depth during Marcus Maye’s suspension

Look who’s back: TheScore’s Jordan Schultz reports that the New Orleans Saints are signing veteran safety Daniel Sorensen to their practice squad, adding depth at the position during Marcus Maye’s three-game suspension.

Sorensen signed with the Saints last year after spending his first eight years in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs, ultimately playing a heavier role on special teams (319 snaps) than on defense (164). Still, he tallied 25 tackles (15 solo) and intercepted a pair of passes while breaking up three others, so he made the most of his opportunities when he was on the field.

The Saints could use improved depth on the back end with Maye sidelined for the next two games. Right now their depth chart includes Tyrann Mathieu, Jordan Howden, Lonnie Johnson Jr., J.T. Gray, and Ugo Amadi on the 53-man roster with Johnathan Abram on the practice squad. Abram was called up for Week 3’s road game with the Green Bay Packers so it makes sense to bring in another experienced pro who knows what’s expected of him.

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Saints bring back one of their backup QB’s from the Panthers practice squad

The Saints brought back one of their backup QB’s from the Panthers practice squad, suggesting Derek Carr won’t be cleared to play this Sunday:

The New Orleans Saints are signing one of the quarterbacks we suggested they would target: Jake Luton, per ESPN’s Field Yates. Luton was on the Carolina Panthers practice squad but will now join the Saints’ 53-man roster behind Derek Carr, Jameis Winston, and Taysom Hill. He was elevated for their Week 3 game after starting quarterback Bryce Young was held out with an ankle injury, but reverted to the practice squad, making him available for the Saints to pluck away.

NFL rules for this acquisition demand Luton be rostered for at least three weeks in New Orleans, so it’s not like he’s going to sign with their 53-man roster on Tuesday and be send down to the practice squad on Wednesday.

This pickup suggests Carr won’t be available when the Saints kick off with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday. Saints head coach Dennis Allen has said that Carr will be evaluated on a week-to-week basis as he recovers from a shoulder injury, and he declined to shut the door on Carr playing against the Bucs. But that’s a bit of a long shot and it’s more realistic to expect Winston to start with Carr returning for the following week’s road game with the New England Patriots.

Back to Luton: he spent most of the 2022 season on the Saints practice squad but was let go this spring after the team selected Jake Haener in the 2023 NFL draft. Haener is currently serving a six-game suspension so his return will line up with the end of Luton’s NFL-mandated three weeks on the roster. Look for the Saints to swap one backup for another at that point.

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Saints release wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith from injured reserve

In a bit of a surprise move, the New Orleans Saints released wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith from injured reserve. ESPN’s Field Yates first reported the news:

Well this was unexpected. ESPN’s Field Yates reports that the New Orleans Saints have released veteran wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith from injured reserve, making him a free agent. Smith missed most of training camp with a groin muscle injury and started the season on injured reserve so he could continue to heal up; he would have been eligible for activation after Week 4’s game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday.

Instead, Smith has been let go. He’s now a free agent and can sign with any team should he pass a physical. It’s an odd situation between the timing of his release, his status as an injured player, and the coaching staff’s determination to keep him in the building for so many years despite his limited role as a blocking specialist.

Maybe they’re cooking something up. Stay tuned for updates. For now, here’s the state of their receiving corps:

  • Chris Olave
  • Michael Thomas
  • Rashid Shaheed
  • Keith Kirkwood
  • A.T. Perry
  • Lynn Bowden Jr.
  • Shaquan Davis (practice squad)

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Saints announce a flurry of last-minute roster moves before kickoff vs. Packers

The Saints announced a flurry of last-minute roster moves before traveling for Sunday’s kickoff with the Packers:

We’re rapidly closing in on the New Orleans Saints’ Week 3 road game with the Green Bay Packers, and the Saints have announced a series of last-minute roster moves to help prepare for this matchup.

Some of the moves were made in response to injuries, others were procedural. Here’s what you need to know about each of them:

Saints elevate two experienced defensive backs from their practice squad

The Saints elevated two experienced defensive backs from their practice squad for Sunday’s game with the Packers. One of them signed with the team just three days ago:

The New Orleans Saints elevated two experienced defensive backs from their practice squad for Sunday’s game with the Green Bay Packers, per the daily NFL transactions wire. And one of them signed with the team just three days ago: cornerback Cameron Dantzler.

It makes sense to bring up more defensive backs with two starters down this week — cornerback Paulson Adebo won’t play after injuring his hamstring in practice Friday, while free safety Marcus Maye has been suspended the next three games.

Dantzler was given the nod ahead of two younger teammates who were also on the practice squad, Anthony Johnson (a rookie) and Faion Hicks (who played just 30 snaps on special teams with the Denver Broncos last year). Dantzler has played 1,792 snaps in 35 career games, so it’s clear they wanted an experienced player in that reserve role behind Marshon Lattimore, Alontae Taylor, and Isaac Yiadom. Ideally Dantzler won’t see the field. But if he has to, the coaches must trust him better than an inexperienced backup.

The other practice squad defensive back coming up this week is Johnathan Abram. Derek Carr’s old teammate with the Raiders, he’s primarily played strong safety throughout his career but could step into the secondary in a pinch. Hopefully guys like Jordan Howden, Lonnie Johnson Jr., and Ugo Amadi can hold up on the back end during Maye’s absence so that Tyrann Mathieu can continue to line up closer to the line of scrimmage, where he’s been at his best.

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