This is a bummer, but it’s to be expected. Jaylon Smith’s agent Doug Hendrickson announced Thursday that the linebacker was leaving the New Orleans Saints practice squad for an opportunity with the Las Vegas Raiders — who are signing him to their 53-man roster and giving him a chance to play on Sundays.
That has to be appealing for Smith after he spent the first eight weeks of the 2023 season watching his Saints teammates compete from the sidelines. With Demario Davis and Pete Werner locked into the starting lineup and few snaps to go around on special teams (a phase Smith has never played in the NFL), the veteran linebacker was stuck on New Orleans’ practice squad.
Good luck to him with this new opportunity. The Raiders’ arrow may not be trending in the same direction as the Saints’ appears to be, but players want to play, and it’s understandable for Smith to take this offer when it was presented to him. Here are the players remaining in the New Orleans linebackers corps with his departure:
- Demario Davis
- Pete Werner
- Zack Baun
- Nephi Sewell
- D’Marco Jackson
- Ty Summers
- Ryan Connelly (practice squad)
- Anfernee Orji (practice squad)
