Jermon Bushrod‘s no longer on the Saints’ roster, and three running backs again are. The Saints released the veteran offensive lineman and promoted Jonathan Williams from their practice squad, Nick Underhill of The Advocate and Mike Triplett of ESPN.com report (Twitter link).
A Pro Bowler with the Saints in 2011 and 2012, Bushrod spent the past five seasons with the Bears and Dolphins. He re-signed with the Saints on a one-year deal. However, the 34-year-old blocker missed two practices this week due to non-injury reasons, per Underhill.
It’s possible the Saints could bring back Bushrod, but for now, the 12th-year veteran is unattached. The Saints re-signed Michael Ola and Josh LeRibeus this week, though, perhaps signalling they’re OK with younger players working as second-stringers up front. Bushrod started 10 games for the Dolphins last season and has 122 career starts.
Affiliated with the Saints since midway through last season, Williams will join Alvin Kamara and Mike Gillislee as New Orleans’ Week 1 backs. Williams has not played in a game since doing so as a rookie for the 2016 Bills. The Saints signed Gillislee earlier this week after sorting through a few Mark Ingram-replacement options this offseason.