Short-handed again at cornerback with one starter (Janoris Jenkins) ruled out on the injury report and another (Marshon Lattimore) questionable to play, the New Orleans Saints have again promoted veteran reserve Ken Crawley to the active roster. They also ruled out reserve corner and special teams ace Justin Hardee.
He’ll have an opportunity to get on the field in Week 5 against the Los Angeles Chargers, especially if Lattimore isn’t cleared to participate after practicing on a limited basis all week. But that doesn’t mean he’ll play much, or even at all. Crawley’s activation was first reported by John Hendrix for SI.com.
With Lattimore and Jenkins out of action in Week 4, the Saints turned to backups P.J. Williams and Patrick Robinson, who both played well. Robinson in particular flashed against a solid Lions receiving crops and came away with an end zone interception to help the Saints comeback effort.
Crawley only logged 6 snaps on defense (plus 4 on special teams) here and there when Robinson had to step out to have his hand re-taped, and for a longer stretch when Williams knocked the wind out of himself after a tackle. The Lions did not take advantage of the mismatch, opting to call run plays on the downs when Crawley was lined up in coverage.
His one-week call-up is a new tweak to NFL rules added in the CBA negotiated earlier this summer with the players’ union. Teams may activate practice squad players for a game twice each season, but they must be signed to the 53-man roster if called up again after that. Teams are allowed to promote two players each week to the game-day roster, so stay tuned to see if someone joins Crawley from the practice squad.
This is the final time Crawley can be brought up before the Saints have to make a longer commitment to him (which is also the case for tight end Garrett Griffin, who played last week); they previously did just that with defensive end Margus Hunt and wide receiver Bennie Fowler Jr.
