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The preseason is where position battles are decided. Cornerback and left guard are just two of the intense battles to watch in Saints vs. Chiefs | @southexclusives
The preseason is best for getting young players experience and deciding position battles. These battles won’t be decided in the first week of action, but players can begin to separate themselves from the pack. The New Orleans Saints have a couple of intense position battles currently raging at training camp, which will come to a head Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Here are the areas you need to keep an eye on and the players you need to watch in each phase of the game:
The Saints are headed into their first preseason game of 2023, and there are several major questions they need to answer against the Chiefs | @southexclusives
The New Orleans Saints head into the first preseason game of the season against the Kansas City Chiefs this Sunday. Officially, the 2023 campaign will be underway.
This will be the first time Derek Carr and many rookies put on a Saints uniform. The preseason will be filled with position battles, such as Alontae Taylor versus Paulson Adebo, and certainly a couple of players will surprise.
It all starts Week 1. Here are some of the biggest questions we’re looking to see answered headed into the Saints- Chiefs preseason matchup:
Breaking down the 6 hardest roster cuts from our way-too-early New Orleans Saints predictions:
We’ve got a long summer break ahead of us leading up to New Orleans Saints training camp, so let’s take a look at the hardest roster cuts from our way-too-early predictions (which you can find here). Whether it’s a fiery young rookie looking for an opportunity or a veteran hoping to extend their career, it was tough to leave these players off our roster projection:
The Saints signed linebacker Ty Summers off the Jaguars practice squad and brought back Nephi Sewell to replenish the depth chart:
Hey, depth is important. The New Orleans Saints signed linebacker Ty Summers off the Jaguars practice squad and brought back Nephi Sewell to replenish the position group ahead of their three final games in the 2022 regular season. Summers is now on the Saints 53-man roster while Sewell has returned to their practice squad.
Here’s the state of the linebacker corps now:
As for Summers: the 26-year old is a fourth-year pro out of TCU, having initially started his career as a seventh-round draft pick for the Green Bay Packers in 2019. He was waived by Green Bay in August and spent his time since on the Jaguars practice squad. He’s appeared in 46 games, all with Green Bay, totaling 52 tackles (37 solo) and a pass breakup, figuring to get on the field in New Orleans on special teams.
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Saints report multiple roster moves, promote LB Nephi Sewell from their practice squad:
This might be ominous for Pete Werner’s status. The New Orleans Saints signed a pair of linebackers on Thursday after their starting weakside linebacker exited Monday night’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens with an ankle injury, filing a quick list of roster moves on the daily NFL transactions wire.
But this isn’t all about Werner. New Orleans also lost backup linebacker Chase Hansen with a knee injury last week, so they needed multiple players to reinforce the depth chart. And they’ve made other moves at different roster spots. Let’s break it all down:
The New Orleans Saints lost veteran linebacker Jon Bostic, who re-signed with the Washington Commanders instead of their practice squad:
LB Jon Bostic, who was with Washington from 2018-21, is coming to the team's facility today to re-sign, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
Bostic tore his pectoral muscle in Week 4 last year, recovered and signed with the Saints but was released Tuesday.
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) August 31, 2022
Former New Orleans Saints linebacker Jon Bostic is re-signing with the Washington Commanders after being let go in final roster cuts this week, per the Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala. That’s not too surprising given Bostic started more games with Washington (36) than anywhere else in his 8-year pro career. He may have had an opportunity to join the Saints practice squad, but Washington likely presents a more direct path to playing-time.
While the Saints look a little thin at linebacker on their 53-man roster (Demario Davis is joined by Pete Werner, Kaden Elliss, Andrew Dowell, and Zack Baun) they brought back most of the backers who spent the summer in New Orleans on their practice squad. Rookie standout Nephi Sewell returned along with veteran backups Chase Hansen and Eric Wilson, both of whom got first-team snaps next to Davis in relief of Werner while the second-year pro missed time with an injury.
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Taco Charlton, three linebackers made the Saints’ initial 15-man practice squad after roster cuts. But there’s one vacancy left to fill:
There it is: the New Orleans Saints announced their 15-strong practice squad on Wednesday, but it’s important to remember how much of a work-in-progress this will be. For the first point, there’s still one vacancy left to fill. Some players will be swapped out for others in the days and weeks ahead, but many of these names are already familiar to Saints fans — and about half of them were previously reported as having re-signed with New Orleans following Tuesday’s roster cuts.
Let’s run through the group position-by-position:
The Saints waived rookie linebacker Nephi Sewell, a promising UDFA out of Utah:
This is tough. The New Orleans Saints waived linebacker Nephi Sewell, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill, though the promising rookie has a good chance of returning on the practice squad. He just needs to clear waivers first, which is a daunting proposition.
Initially signed out of Utah after the 2022 NFL draft, Sewell competed hard in training camp while leading the team in snaps played on special teams (50). It just wasn’t enough to overcome the numbers game at linebacker.
With Demario Davis and Pete Werner expected to see the lion’s share of snaps on defense, with top backups Kaden Elliss and Eric Wilson behind them, Sewell was stuck in a logjam with former draft pick Zack Baun, journeyman veteran Jon Bostic, and Chase Hansen, another young Saints backup.
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Will an undrafted free agent make the Saints’ roster this year? It says more about the team’s depth than the rookies that this is a real question:
Few teams have as strong a history with undrafted free agents like the New Orleans Saints. They’ve consistently found diamonds in the rough for years, making players like Pierre Thomas and Lance Moore into fan favorites during the early years of Sean Payton’s tenure. That success has continued recently with Marquez Callaway, Deonte Harty, and, hey, Taysom Hill finding success. It’s extended to the trenches, too, with Calvin Throckmorton, Carl Granderson, Shy Tuttle, and Malcolm Roach all carving out roles for themselves.
But a downside to assembling such a strong depth chart is that it gets increasingly harder for those players on the roster bubble to make the cut. And the Saints are as strong this year as they’ve ever been on both sides of the ball. Some promising undrafted rookies have already been let go, like former Baylor running back Abram Smith. It’s a legitimate question as to whether a single UDFA sticks on the opening-day 53-man roster.
If anyone has a good shot at accomplishing that feat, it’s probably rookie linebacker Nephi Sewell (out of Utah). He led the defense in tackles this preseason (5 of them constituting stops, per Pro Football Focus) while playing 50 snaps on special teams. He got on the field with five of the six kicking units, primarily playing with the coverage and return teams on punts and kickoffs. New Orleans has been trying to find a way for him to make their roster, but it remains to be seen if he showed enough to surpass a veteran like Jon Bostic or Zack Baun.
There’s another option on offense, too. Let’s talk about right tackle Lewis Kidd (Montana State). Kidd saw more snaps as a blocker (147) than anyone, but he wasn’t charged with allowing a sack through three preseason games and drew just one penalty. He did yield six pressures and he probably isn’t someone you want seeing meaningful snaps, but he’s worth holding onto as a project behind Ryan Ramczyk and Landon Young. And that’s valuable considering the many injuries the Saints have sustained along the offensive line. At some point you just need bodies to fill out the depth chart.
As for other former undrafted free agents in the mix: look for rookies like wide receivers Dai’Jean Dixon (Nicholls) and Rashid Shaheed (Weber State), as well as defensive backs DaMarcus Fields (Texas Tech) and Vincent Gray (Michigan) to get some consideration for the practice squad. It would be a big surprise to see them on the 53-man roster, but the door slams open if the Saints trade a veteran like Deonte Harty or Bradley Roby. Other teams see how deep the Saints run at receiver and corner, among other position groups, and they’ve already begun calling New Orleans to see who may be available. If a more-experienced player is moved before the roster cuts deadline, one of those undrafted rookies stands to benefit. That may be what it takes for one of their number to make the team.
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Stakes are climbing higher in the week leading up to the final Saints preseason game. 3 players we’re watching at Aug. 22’s practice, via @RossJacksonNOLA:
For bubble players on NFL rosters, today begins the final week of training camp. For the New Orleans Saints, there’s a lot of talent in the depth chart, but not a ton of spots left to claim. Here are three players we’ll be watching as the final week of camp kicks off, with a focus on those looking to start off strong for n order to claim a roster spot ahead of the regular season kickoff.
