The New Orleans Saints released wide receiver Cameron Meredith on Monday, as first reported by Herbie Teope of the Advocate. Meredith passed his conditioning test to begin camp but was a limited participant during practice sessions, evidently still struggling with the knee injury that cut his 2018 season short.
It’s a tough break for Meredith, who had been working hard to get his body right and accepted a pay cut in March to help stick on the Saints’ roster. Unfortunately, issues related to his catastrophic 2017 knee injury with the Chicago Bears lingered over into 2018, requiring an arthroscopic procedure to reduce swelling in the joint and landing him on injured reserve with the Saints.
Meredith’s ability was on clear display; including two catches in the preseason, he caught 11 of the 13 passes sent his way for 186 yards and two scores on very limited action last year. His body simply wouldn’t cooperate and let him stay on the field. Hopefully his issues won’t become chronic and spell the end of his playing career.
By releasing Meredith now, the Saints will save just over $900,000 in salary cap space. He’s still owed $3.25 million, which the Saints will absorb as a dead-money hit. They must have not had much confidence that he will be healthy and ready to contribute this year. The emergence of younger, healthier options like Emmanuel Butler and Cyril Grayson Jr. may have made that decision easier.
