The New Orleans Saints used just one of their two available practice squad elevations heading into Week 3’s matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles, adding linebacker Isaiah Stalbird to the active roster.
This is the second week in a row where he has been brought up from the practice squad, and he did make one tackle last week against the Dallas Cowboys while playing 14 snaps on special teams.
Stalbird was a rookie undrafted free agent signing for the Saints this spring after he played 52 games for the South Dakota State Jackrabbits. In those 52 games, he accrued 238 tackles (139 solo, 99 assisted), 18.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 18 pass deflections, 5 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, and an interception.
Prior to that, Stalbird spent two seasons with the Nebraska Cornhuskers, redshirting his freshman season in 2018, and then being a critical special teams player in 2019 appearing in all 12 games and leading the team with 10 special teams tackles (out of his 13 total on the season).
This level of production and versatility is what likely caught the eye of the Saints’ scouting department, and why he ended up remaining with the team, even if it’s on the practice squad. That he’s now been activated for two games so early in the season speaks well to how highly his coaches value him.
