The Saints have waived linebacker James Laurinaitis from injured reserve, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). New Orleans’ decision to move on from Laurinaitis comes as no surprise, as Mike Garafolo of NFL.com reported Tuesday that the team would cut the 29-year-old if a doctor deemed him healthy. That’s apparently the case, which will give Laurinaitis a chance to catch on elsewhere before season’s end.
Laurinaitis suffered a quad injury in September and his late-October return fell flat, leading the Saints to place him on IR. All told, he appeared in six games (four starts) and made 17 tackles with New Orleans, which signed him to a three-year, $8.5MM deal in the offseason. The contract included a $1.8MM signing bonus, so the Saints forked over roughly $2MM to their failed investment.
Prior to joining the Saints, Laurinaitis established himself as one of the NFL’s most durable defenders in seven years with the Rams. The 2009 second-round pick didn’t miss a game in St. Louis, where he appeared in and started 112 in a row. Despite that, the Rams released him in February.