I’m not going nowhere , #SaintsNation we good lol
Buy Saints Tickets— Dwayne Washington (@swaggywaynexii) August 31, 2022
Well that’s reassuring. Dwayne Washington took to Twitter on Thursday evening to allay the concerned New Orleans Saints fanbase, saying from his personal social media account that “I’m not going nowhere,” upon his surprise release from the black and gold. The veteran backup has been a big help for the Saints on special teams and looked to be running with some more juice in their three preseason games over the summer, so parting ways with him so suddenly after the NFL roster cuts deadline was perplexing.
But it makes sense as a procedural move. The Saints have multiple players managing injuries, with some of them expected to hit the reserve list soon, but they have to wait until certain dates to file those transactions to best benefit the team (either from a salary cap standpoint or in allowing the players to return for games later this season). They needed an open roster spot, and Washington was a vested veteran who would not be subject to waivers, so they could temporarily release him only to re-sign the running back once other moves are processed.
It’s complicated, but it’s part of the game. Right now the Saints are at capacity with 53 players on the active roster (defensive tackle Malcolm Roach will be going on injured reserve, but that hasn’t been officially processed yet) and 15 of their 16 practice squad spots filled. Once Roach and some others are sent to IR, we should anticipate a quick return for Washington. The roster is very much in flux this time of the year — there’s a reason we call it the initial 53-man lineup, not the final iteration.
