An injury to Marcus Maye has prompted the New Orleans Saints to promote practice squad safety Johnathan Abram to their 53-man roster, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Abram made several appearances earlier this season as a standard elevation from the practice squad — but NFL rules dictate that players must be signed to the 53-man roster in order to suit up for more games after hitting that three-game limit.
Maye was a new addition to the injury report on Wednesday with a shoulder issue, so it makes sense to bring up Abram in case he’s needed on Sunday against the Detroit Lions. The Saints have other backups on the roster like Lonnie Johnson Jr., Ugo Amadi, and J.T. Gray, but it won’t hurt to make Abram available too.
Abram totaled 8 tackles in three games with the Saints earlier this year. Before arriving in New Orleans, the 27-year-old started 34 of his 36 games with the Raiders as a teammate of Derek Carr’s and spent time with the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks.
As for Maye: availability has been a concern with him ever since he signed with the Saints. He was limited to 10 of 17 games last season due to injuries and missed three games this season with a DUI suspension. His five-year run with the New York Jets was marred by injuries, too. He’s in the second year of his three-year contract and needs to prove he’s someone the Saints can count on moving forwards.
