We’re almost to the finish line. The New Orleans Saints have announced their 53-man roster and 16-man practice squad, but there’s a catch: more changes are on the way as the team puts the finishing touches on their offense, defense, and special teams units in the days ahead.
Some more players will be signed after free agent tryouts. Some will be released to make room. A couple will be designated to injured reserve, giving them the option to return after healing up. The group that we’re looking at now won’t be exactly the same this time next week. But it’s a start, and for the most part we’ll see many of these players suiting up for Week 1’s home opener with the Tennessee Titans.
Buy Saints TicketsLet’s run through each position group to see where they stand:
Quarterbacks (3)
- No. 4 Derek Carr
- No. 2 Jameis Winston
- No. 14 Jake Haener (rookie)
No surprises here. Haener will be active each week to take advantage of the revived third quarterback rule, but it’s Winston’s show if Carr misses any time. Hopefully that won’t be a concern.
Running backs (3, plus 1)
- No. 30 Jamaal Williams
- No. 25 Kendre Miller (rookie)
- No. 33 Kirk Merritt
- Practice squad: No. 35 Ellis Merriweather (rookie)
- Reserve/suspended: No. 41 Alvin Kamara
The Saints have reportedly signed two other running backs from other teams’ roster cuts — their own former backup Tony Jones Jr. and Haener’s college teammate Jordan Mims — but neither signing is official just yet.
Fullbacks (1)
- No. 46 Adam Prentice
Prentice won this job outright. We’ll see how many snaps the Saints have available for him as the offense continues to evolve.
Tight ends (4)
- No. 83 Juwan Johnson
- No. 82 Foster Moreau
- No. 80 Jimmy Graham
- No. 7 Taysom Hill
That’s a deep group, even if Graham is limited to red-zone possessions. Hill does so many different jobs at other positions that it’s easy to overlook him being listed at tight end.
Wide receivers (6, plus 3)
- No. 12 Chris Olave
- No. 13 Michael Thomas
- No. 22 Rashid Shaheed
- No. 17 A.T. Perry (rookie)
- No. 10 Tre’Quan Smith
- No. 18 Keith Kirkwood
- Practice squad: No. 84 Lynn Bowden Jr.
- Practice squad: No. 88 Shaquan Davis (rookie)
- Practice squad: No. 85 Jontre Kirklin
Offensive tackles (3, plus 1)
- No. 71 Ryan Ramczyk (right)
- No. 70 Trevor Penning (left)
- No. 67 Landon Young (swing)
- Practice squad: No. 72 Storm Norton (right)
This feels like the thinnest part of the depth chart. Young has been sidelined with an injury, and Norton has strictly played on the right side. The Saints don’t have a real backup plan right now behind Penning — presumably either Andrus Peat or James Hurst would slide over, but that risks impacting multiple spots along the offensive line.
Offensive guards/centers (6, plus 2)
- No. 74 James Hurst (left guard)
- No. 78 Erik McCoy (center)
- No. 51 Cesar Ruiz (right guard)
- No. 75 Andrus Peat (left guard)
- No. 64 Nick Saldiveri (rookie, swing guard)
- No. 73 Max Garcia (center)
- Practice squad: No. 62 Tommy Kraemer (left guard)
- Practice squad: No. 68 Mark Evans II (rookie, right guard)
That isn’t a bad depth chart at all. Having a starting-quality guard coming off the bench like Peat is a luxury. Saldiveri should play some snaps too. Garcia is an experienced backup too. Having some young guys to develop in Kraemer and Evans is smart.
Special teams (3)
- No. 39 Lou Hedley (rookie, punter)
- No. 19 Blake Grupe (rookie, kicker)
- No. 49 Zach Wood (long snapper)
It’s sink or swim for these two rookies. The Saints made a bold decision to move off of two established specialists, we’ll see if it pays off.
Defensive ends (5, plus 2)
- No. 94 Cameron Jordan (left)
- No. 96 Carl Granderson (right)
- No. 98 Payton Turner (right)
- No. 92 Tanoh Kpassagnon (left)
- No. 55 Isaiah Foskey (rookie, right)
- Practice squad: No. 54 Niko Lalos (right)
- Practice squad: No. 93 Kyle Phillips (left)
Defensive tackles (4, plus 1)
- No. 93 Nathan Shepherd
- No. 99 Khalen Saunders
- No. 90 Bryan Bresee (rookie)
- No. 97 Malcolm Roach
- Practice squad: No. 95 Jack Heflin
Linebackers (5, plus 4)
- No. 56 Demario Davis
- No. 20 Pete Werner
- No. 45 Nephi Sewell
- No. 53 Zack Baun
- No. 52 D’Marco Jackson
- Practice squad: No. 59 Jaylon Smith
- Practice squad: No. 58 Anfernee Orji (rookie)
- Practice squad: No. 43 Ryan Connelly
- Practice squad: No. 42 Ty Summers
Safeties (6, plus 1)
- No. 32 Tyrann Mathieu
- No. 6 Marcus Maye
- No. 48 J.T. Gray
- No. 28 Lonnie Johnson Jr.
- No. 31 Jordan Howden (rookie)
- No. 0 Ugo Amadi
- Practice squad: No. 24 Johnathan Abram
That’s an impressive depth chart right there, with plenty of high-end talent, overqualified backups, and plenty of built-in redundancy should injuries strike. The Saints are planning to lean on their secondary.
Cornerbacks (4, plus 1)
- No. 23 Marshon Lattimore
- No. 29 Paulson Adebo
- No. 1 Alontae Taylor
- No. 27 Isaac Yiadom
- Practice squad: No. 36 Anthony Johnson (rookie)
This group suddenly looks very vulnerable now that Bradley Roby isn’t in the mix. The veteran corner brought starting-level play in the slot and reliability when flexed outside. Hopefully everyone’s health holds up so nobody is thrust into a major role before they’re ready for it.
