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The second week of the NFL regular season is in full swing, and the New Orleans Saints have again chosen not to protect any of the 16 players on their practice squad. After appearing in the season-opening win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, both defensive lineman Margus Hunt (21 snaps on defense, 4 on special teams) and wide receiver Bennie Fowler (7 snaps on offense, 12 on special teams) reverted to the practice squad. They can each be called up one more time before they must be signed to the roster full-time.
So the decision to not protect any of their practice squad players is, on its surface, puzzling. Teams have the option this year to block up to four players from being poached by other teams each week; it’s a first-year change along with the expanded practice squads (which grew to 16 from 12, as ruled in the new CBA and adjusted for the COVID-19 pandemic). But Saints coach Sean Payton put some thought into how much he’s willing to give away on the daily transactions wire.
“Yeah, a number of teams didn’t. We were one of them and just chose to go that route,” Payton said in his Sept. 11 conference call. “There’s pros and cons. Obviously, you put a protection tag on someone, you’re alerting 31 other teams maybe of a player that that you might have plans for. I think it’s just one of those things where I don’t know how many teams, 14 or 15, but I know we weren’t the only ones [to not issue protections].”
Ahead of Week 2, all but 12 teams chose to protect at least one practice squad member from poaching; the Kansas City Chiefs protected defensive tackle Braxton Hoyett, while the Minnesota Vikings blocked kicker Chase McLaughlin. So they aren’t as worried about tipping their hand.
We’ll see whether the Saints choose to activate any players from the practice squad again this week. As Payton suggested, opting to not protect anyone during the week could give teams an edge on game day once it’s time to whittle down the roster for players who can dress out.
That’s a player the opposing team wouldn’t have studied game film for. And it clearly paid off for the Saints, when Hunt blocked a field goal and Fowler recovered a fumbled ball. Maybe it’s a stunt they can pull off again.
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