The New Orleans Saints went through their roster and made many tough decisions cutting it down from 80 players to just 53, and their work isn’t finished just yet. Waiver wire pickups and practice squad acquisitions are sure to follow as more tweaks are made ahead of Week 1.
In the meantime, here is the full list of roster moves made by the Saints in accordance with NFL rules on Saturday:
Players released by the Saints
- LB Anthony Chickillo
- DE Mario Edwards Jr.
- DL Margus Hunt
- WR Bennie Fowler
- OL Patrick Omameh
Because of their veteran status with four or more accrued NFL seasons, none of these players are subject to waivers. And due to new COVID-19 rules impacting the practice squad, the Saints can re-sign any of them if they so choose.
Players waived by the Saints
- LB Joe Bachie
- WR Emmanuel Butler
- WR Austin Carr
- DE T.J. Carter
- LB Andrew Dowell
- TE Garrett Griffin
- CB Kemon Hall
- WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey
- WR Juwan Johnson
- RB Tony Jones Jr.
- LB Wynton McManis (CFL)
- OL Jordan Steckler
- TE Tommy Stevens
- OL Calvin Throckmorton
- OL Cameron Tom
- CB Keith Washington Jr.
- TE Ethan Wolf
Each of these players could return to the Saints practice squad, but they must first pass through the waiver wire without being claimed by another team.
Injured/suspended Saints players
- LB Kiko Alonso (PUP)
- S Saquan Hampton (waived/injured)
- DE Anthony Lanier (injured reserve)
- OL James Hurst (suspension)
With the exception of Hampton (who is subject to waivers, and could theoretically be claimed by another team), each of these players figure to stick with New Orleans. Alonso will have about six weeks to show progress in his recovery from ACL surgery earlier this year before the Saints must make a decision on sending him to injured reserve, while Hurst will be suspended the first four weeks of the season due to a violation of the NFL’s performance-enhancing drugs policy from his time with the Baltimore Ravens. Because Lanier has accrued enough NFL experience, he can be designated directly to injured reserve without first testing waivers.
