Saints lose third linebacker as Will Compton is waived with injury designation

The New Orleans Saints lost three linebackers on Friday, with veteran Will Compton joining Josh Martin and Colton Jumper on injured reserve. Field Yates of ESPN first reported that Compton would revert to IR after being waived with an injury designation, which was listed on the official NFL transactions wire. Compton later confirmed his status with a tongue-in-cheek update from his own official Twitter account.

“Will Compton getting waived/injured, per source,” Compton wrote. “Unlucky timing with an injury last night. The good news after some preseason action: the boy can still ball!”

He thanked the Saints for the chance to play for them and wished them well moving forward, also offering a shout-out to the fans he encountered in New Orleans: “The Saints have something special going! I appreciate the opportunity, the hospitality, and all of the communication from the top down. Maybe we will cross paths again sometime soon. If not, good luck to all!

Compton was signed in the midst of training camp once injuries hit the linebacker corps hard and sidelined both a starter (Alex Anzalone) and his backup (Craig Robertson). But an unfortunate lower-leg injury took Compton out of the Saints’ final preseason game against the Miami Dolphins after he had already made several nice tackles in traffic near the line of scrimmage. Now, they’ll need to look high and low for help at the position, unless Anzalone or Robertson is going to be ready for the season opener on Sept. 9.