HEADLINES

Nephi Sewell

Saints Activate C Erik McCoy From IR

November 16th, 2024 at 4:42pm CST by Ben Levine

4:42PM: As expected, New Orleans has announced the activation of McCoy from injured reserve. The team also activated reserve linebacker Nephi Sewell off of the reserve/physically unable to perform list. To clear some roster space, the Saints waived wide receiver Jermaine Jackson. Jackson had been filling duties as a return man, appearing in the team’s last four contests.

In the announcement, New Orleans also designated wide receivers Kevin Austin and Dante Pettis as their standard gameday practice squad elevations for the second straight week.

9:07AM: The Saints’ season is all but in the gutter, but the team will still welcome back their starting center for the stretch run of the season. The team is expected to activate starting center Erik McCoy from IR in time for tomorrow’s game against the Browns, per ESPN’s Katherine Terrell.

McCoy suffered a groin injury only a few snaps into Week 3 and subsequently underwent surgery. He’s missed each of New Orleans’ last seven games, although a return seemed imminent when he returned to practice earlier this month. While the Saints sit three games out of a playoff spot in the NFC, the staff is still more than happy to slot the veteran OL back atop the depth chart.

“Should be good to go,” interim coach Darren Rizzi said of McCoy. “I thought we did the right thing here the last couple of weeks with his volume in practice, amped it up a little bit every day, and he looks like he’s ready to go. Unless we have a setback between now and Sunday, I imagine he’d be in there.”

There have been plenty of changes in New Orleans since McCoy went down with an injury. Most notably, the team moved on from head coach Dennis Allen, and the offense has lost two major pieces in Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed. While Derek Carr made a relatively quick return from his oblique injury, he’s had to play behind an inexperienced OL. With McCoy out of the lineup and Ryan Ramczyk lost for the season, Cesar Ruiz represented the only holdover from the Drew Brees/Sean Payton era.

A 2019 second-round pick, McCoy has been a full-time starter since joining New Orleans. After missing nine combined games between the 2021 and 2022 seasons, the center managed to get into all 17 games in 2023, leading to his first career Pro Bowl nod. He’ll step right back into his starting center spot, and the Saints won’t have to juggle any additional depth after they cut fill-in Connor McGovern earlier this week.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/30/24

October 30th, 2024 at 7:26pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Saints Place RB Kendre Miller On IR, Reduce Squad To 53

August 27th, 2024 at 9:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here is how the Saints moved their roster down to the regular-season 53-man limit:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Placed on IR/return designation:

Placed on reserve/PUP list:

A host of vested vets are off the Saints’ roster, and Miller will be for a stretch as well. Miller has been down with a hamstring injury for several weeks, suffering the setback minutes into the team’s initial training camp workout. This lingering into the regular season is a concerning development for both parties. Hamstring trouble limited Miller late last summer as well. The Saints still roster Jamaal Williams behind Alvin Kamara, but they used a third-round pick on Miller last year. The TCU alum logged 41 carries as a rookie, but a new OC (Klint Kubiak) is now calling the shots.

Kpassagnon sustained an Achilles tear early this offseason, and he will miss at least four games. Rookie UDFA Mason Tipton made the roster over St. Brown, while offseason pickup Will Harris secured a spot over Abram. The Saints kept Lucas Patrick and Oli Udoh over Davis and Lemieux, who had been attempting to bounce back from an injury-plagued Giants tenure.

Saints Place Ryan Ramczyk On Reserve/PUP List; Chase Young Nearing Return

July 18th, 2024 at 7:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

7:05pm: NFL network’s Ian Rapoport has provided a discouraging update, noting that Ramczyk’s placement on PUP means he’s out for the entire season. This applies to all vested veterans placed on reserve/PUP prior to the final roster reduction August 27.

4:00pm: Rumored to be in danger of missing the 2024 season, Ryan Ramczyk is already out of the picture for a chunk of it. The Saints placed the All-Pro right tackle on the reserve/PUP list Thursday, guaranteeing he will miss at least the season’s first four games.

A knee injury Ramczyk battled through last season has the eighth-year veteran at a career crossroads, and the Saints drafted a tackle in Round 1 (Taliese Fuaga). The former Oregon State right tackle is training on the left side, but it does not appear Ramczyk will be counted on in 2024. This transaction points to Ramczyk missing the season, NewOrleans.football’s Nick Underhill tweets.

Teams have the option of placing players on the active/PUP list, which is a training camp-only designation that does not affect a player’s regular-season availability. The Saints taking this step with Ramczyk more than a month before they have to does not bode well for the decorated blocker’s chances of factoring into the 2024 campaign.

Ramczyk, who turned 30 this offseason, has started 101 games. Twelve of those came last season, but knee trouble has pointed to this reality for a bit. A cartilage defect in Ramczyk’s knee has led him to this crossroads, which compounds issues for a Saints team in dire straits at tackle. Dennis Allen had labeled Ramczyk’s offseason knee surgery as minor and projected he would be ready for camp but said in April he felt better about the veteran’s chances at the time of surgery.

The team has not seen 2022 first-rounder Trevor Penning pan out; an early-season benching occurred. The Saints then saw three-year starter James Hurst, who worked at left tackle for two seasons and left guard for most of last year, retire. This came shortly after Andrus Peat, a Pro Bowl guard who was Penning’s primary LT replacement last year, defected to the Raiders. This all but assured the Saints would take advantage of this year’s deep tackle crop, with Fuaga being the prize at No. 14 overall.

As recently as last season, the Saints rolled out an O-line with four first-rounders (Ramczyk, Penning, Peat, Cesar Ruiz) and second-round center Erik McCoy. The team went back to the Round 1 well via Fuaga, who is in line to start at left tackle, but the LG and RT spots are uncertain. Penning trained at right tackle this offseason and may well be the favorite to fill in for Ramczyk, but the Northern Iowa alum’s performance to date leaves that as an unstable position.

This will be a blow for a perennially cap-strapped team. The Saints gave Ramczyk a five-year, $96MM extension in 2021. That contract included $43MM guaranteed at signing and $60MM guaranteed in total. Part of a 2017 draft class that changed the Saints’ trajectory, Ramczyk is a three-time All-Pro (first team in 2019) who has given the Saints stability on the right side. Ramczyk reworked his contract this offseason, dropping his cap number from $27MM to $12.9MM. A dead money charge of $23.1MM would come the Saints’ way if Ramczyk moves off the roster via release, though that number could be split via a post-June 1 cut.

In less impactful Saints news, the team placed tight end Juwan Johnson, defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon, linebacker Nephi Sewell and free agency DE addition Chase Young on the active/PUP list. Chris Olave landed on the active/NFI list. Players moved to the active/PUP or active/NFI lists can be activated at any point. The Saints activated rookie wide receiver Bub Means from the active/NFI list Thursday.

Young is coming off offseason neck surgery, though the former No. 2 overall pick has been viewed as likely to be ready for Week 1. His recovery has gone well enough the team does not expect a lengthy stay on the active/PUP list, Underhill adds. A similar assessment emerged last month, pointing to Young — who saw a severe knee injury change his path in Washington — being ready in the not-too-distant future. Young signed a one-year, $13MM deal comprised largely of per-game roster bonuses.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/5/24

January 5th, 2024 at 4:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Friday’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

  • Signed from practice squad: RB Xazavian Valladay

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

A knee injury will send Fuller to IR, potentially wrapping the veteran cornerback’s second stint in Washington. The 2016 third-round pick, sent to Kansas City in the Alex Smith trade, returned in 2020 on a four-year, $40MM deal. With the Commanders having already fired Jack Del Rio and being set to clean house following their season finale, the 28-year-old corner could be headed elsewhere in free agency.

Worley has played 124 defensive snaps for the Ravens this season, starting two games. This will be the eighth-year corner’s second IR placement this season. If the Ravens qualify for Super Bowl LVIII, they would be eligible to activate Worley a second time. (Baltimore has four IR activations remaining, though one may need to be saved in case Mark Andrews can come back.) Worley is dealing with shoulder and ankle injuries.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/9/23

January 9th, 2023 at 6:45pm CST by Ely Allen

18 teams had their seasons come to an end yesterday, and their front offices have already turned the page to the 2023 NFL seaon. This started today, as a number of players were signed to reserve/futures contracts, which allows organizations to retain (routinely) young, practice squad players throughout the offseason. Here are today’s reserve/futures contracts:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

  • WR Ty Fryfogle

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Washington Commanders

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/20/22

December 20th, 2022 at 7:48pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Signed: QB James Morgan
  • Released: QB Carson Strong

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

  • Signed: G Parker Ferguson, DB Devon Key
  • Released: LB Harvey Langi

Detroit Lions

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Seattle Seahawks

  • Signed: DT Jarrod Hewitt

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/17/22

December 17th, 2022 at 5:41pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

  • Promoted: C Brock Hoffman

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/10/22

November 10th, 2022 at 4:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Thursday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Chicago Bears

New Orleans Saints

Saints Cut Roster Down To 53

August 30th, 2022 at 6:59pm CST by Ely Allen

New Orleans got a head start on the deadline for roster cuts this weekend with several moves, but the team found its way to the 53-man limit today. Here are the moves the Saints made today to get there:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on reserve/injured:

Placed on reserve/suspended by commissioner:

The big story of the day for New Orleans was the trade this morning that sent defensive back Chauncey Gardner-Johnson to Philadelphia. The defensive back had pushed for an extension, staging a hold-in effort early in camp, but ultimately found himself on his way to Pennsylvania, paving the way for the Saints to hold onto six safeties. Safety Daniel Sorensen is on the roster for his special teams contributions, but Justin Evans will really be given a chance to contribute at safety in the absence of Gardner-Johnson.

Despite seeing fellow defensive tackle Huggins head to injured reserve, rookie sixth-round pick Jackson was unable to hold onto a roster spot, being the only member of the Saints’ rookie draft class who failed to do so. The offseason addition of Kentavius Street was likely the determining factor that left Jackson off the 53-man roster.

The team did see an undrafted free agent make the final roster as offensive lineman Lewis Kidd worked his way out of Montana State to make the Saints’ initial 53. He’ll serve as a depth piece on an offensive line with quite a few injury questions.

A position group that definitely looks improved on paper is the receiving corps who gets back Michael Thomas and added first-round pick Chris Olave and veteran Jarvis Landry in the offseason. These new targets will combine with the tight ends group, that includes swiss-army man Taysom Hill, as weapons for quarterbacks Jameis Winston and Andy Dalton.

Besides all the above, the team will look fairly similar in composition to last year’s. The running backs, special teams, defensive ends, and cornerbacks will look largely the same as the team heads into the 2022 NFL season. Where things could end up looking different is on the practice squad. After clearing waivers, many of the players above will have the opportunity to rejoin the Saints’ 16-man squad.

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