Time is flying by. There are just 57 days left until the tart of the New Orleans Saints’ 2024 regular season, which makes the current owner of the No. 57 jersey our Saints Player of the Day: Niko Lalos.
Another year on the practice squad has been good for his development. Lalos has higher goals in 2024, but what road brought him here? Let’s break it down.
- Name (Age): Niko Lalos (27)
- Position: Defensive end
- Height, weight: 6-foot-5, 269 pounds
- Relative Athletic Score: N/A
- 2024 salary cap hit: $915,000
- College: Dartmouth
- Drafted: Undrafted in 2020 (New York Giants)
- NFL experience: 2 years
Lalos spent the first couple years of his pro career with the Giants, appearing in a handful of games with Big Blue before they waived him during their 2022 training camp. He joined the Saints for the rest of the preseason that summer and spent most of the year on their practice squad, returning to New Orleans in 2023. He played well for the XFL’s Seattle Sea Dragons in 2022 before re-signing with the Saints and held his own throughout the preseason but ultimately wound up on the practice squad again. They saw enough to warrant bringing him back for 2024.
Now he’s looking to make the team outright. If Tanoh Kpassagnon misses most of the season with his Achilles injury, as is expected, that opens up a slot for someone like Lalos to climb the depth chart. But he’ll have to prove he’s a better option than rookie free agent Trajan Jeffcoat or maybe even Payton Turner. Lalos has the size the Saints covet at the position and more pro experience than other players in the competition. He just needs to put it all together with a strong summer.
