It’s been a busy week for the New Orleans Saints, who have actively churned their practice squad and made some changes to the 53-man roster ahead of Week 5’s kickoff with the Seattle Seahawks. They’ll have a number of new faces and jersey numbers in the lineup on Sunday, so here’s what you need to get up to speed:
Quarterback (3)
- No. 2 Jameis Winston (doubtful with back and ankle injuries)
- No. 14 Andy Dalton
- No. 16 Jake Luton
Winston is officially listed as doubtful, but Saints coach Dennis Allen said Friday that Dalton will get the start. He got away with a couple of negative plays last week, fumbling just before halftime and throwing an interception that was dropped by a defender, but he did complete 71.4% of his passes and give the team a shot at winning the day. Now he’ll get to work with star running back Alvin Kamara.
Running backs (4)
- No. 41 Alvin Kamara (questionable with a rib injury)
- No. 22 Mark Ingram II
- No. 24 Dwayne Washington
- No. 88 J.P. Holtz (tight end/fullback)
Kamara said he’ll play this week, and the decision to waive backup Tony Jones Jr. suggests he’s back to full health. Hopefully. The only other big change here (besides the Denver Broncos poaching Latavius Murray from the practice squad early this week) is Holtz signing to the 53-man roster and bumping Adam Prentice down to the practice squad.
Tight ends (4)
- No. 83 Juwan Johnson
- No. 82 Adam Trautman
- No. 7 Taysom Hill (expected to play, limited this week with rib injury)
- No. 81 Nick Vannett (healthy inactive in Week 4)
Trautman has been outsnapped by Johnson in three of the first four games, but we’ll see if that reversed trend continues in Week 5. Dalton has been more eager to throw to the big tight end than Winston was to start the season, so he may have greater utility while there’s a different quarterback under center. Undrafted rookie tight end Lucas Krull (Pittsburgh) is on the practice squad but was not elevated this week.
Offensive tackle (4)
- No. 71 Ryan Ramczyk (right tackle; expected to play, limited this week with a veteran’s rest day)
- No. 74 James Hurst (left tackle)
- No. 67 Landon Young (swing tackle)
- No. 66 Lewis Kidd (right tackle)
Ramczyk and Hurst are your bookend tackles, with Young backing both of them up and Kidd getting on the field in rare jumbo packages. Rookie first-round pick Trevor Penning (Northern Iowa) is still on injured reserve, and isn’t expected to return from his turf toe injury until at least November.
Interior offensive line (5)
- No. 78 Erik McCoy (center)
- No. 75 Andrus Peat (left guard; questionable to play with concussion)
- No. 51 Cesar Ruiz (right guard)
- No. 76 Calvin Throckmorton (swing guard; ruled out with ankle injury)
- No. 65 Wyatt Davis (right guard)
The Saints didn’t activate either of their practice squad reserves (Yasir Durant and Josh Andrews) so it’s likely Peat starts this week. With Throckmorton preemptively ruled out, look for backup guard Wyatt Davis to be the next man up if needed.
Wide receivers (6)
- No. 13 Michael Thomas (ruled out with foot injury)
- No. 5 Jarvis Landry (questionable with ankle injury)
- No. 12 Chris Olave
- No. 1 Marquez Callaway
- No. 10 Tre’Quan Smith
- No. 11 Deonte Harty
Practice squad wideout Keith Kirkwood (No. 18) was brought up as a single-game elevation, likely just in case Landry can’t play. We’ll see how big of a role he plays on Sunday. Either way, look for Olave and Callaway to take the lion’s share of targets this week. Hopefully Thomas can return soon. Kirk Merritt, Rashid Shaheed, and Kevin White remain on the practice squad.
Special teams (3)
- No. 4 Blake Gillikin (punter)
- No. 3 Wil Lutz (kicker)
- No. 49 Zach Wood (long snapper)
Nothing unusual here.
Defensive ends (5)
- No. 94 Cameron Jordan (right end)
- No. 92 Marcus Davenport (left end)
- No. 96 Carl Granderson (practiced this week with an eye injury)
- No. 90 Tanoh Kpassagnon
- No. 98 Payton Turner (ruled out with chest injury)
It’s unclear whether Turner is dealing with a pectoral or labrum injury, or something else altogether, but he won’t play this week. Jordan and Davenport are still rushing almost exclusively from one side or the other, but their backups are moving around more frequently. Taco Charlton is on the practice squad.
Interior defensive line (4)
- No. 93 David Onyemata
- No. 99 Shy Tuttle
- No. 91 Kentavius Street
- No. 97 Malcolm Roach
Roach was just activated from injured reserve after undergoing ankle surgery late in preseason, and he should add some more energy to a group that hasn’t quite met expectations to start the season. Christian Ringo and Jordan Jackson are on the practice squad but unavailable this week.
Linebackers (6)
- No. 56 Demario Davis
- No. 20 Pete Werner
- No. 55 Kaden Elliss
- No. 53 Zack Baun
- No. 50 Andrew Dowell
- No. 42 Chase Hansen
Davis and Werner are seeing the vast majority of snaps at linebacker, but Elliss is also getting in on the mix for a lot of running downs. Baun, Dowell, and Hansen are limited to special teams reps. Nephi Sewell is on the practice squad.
Safeties (6)
- No. 32 Tyrann Mathieu
- No. 6 Marcus Maye (questionable with rib injury)
- No. 30 Justin Evans
- No. 48 J.T. Gray
- No. 25 Daniel Sorensen
- No. 31 Bryce Thompson
Thompson was just signed from the practice squad, replacing P.J. Williams, who was sent to injured reserve with a quadriceps issue. Evans started in the slot but has moved back to his natural position at safety with the Saints getting starting corner Paulson Adebo back in the lineup. If Maye can’t play, Evans would be the smart pick to take his place.
Cornerbacks (3)
- No. 23 Marshon Lattimore
- No. 29 Paulson Adebo
- No. 21 Bradley Roby
Chris Harris Jr. (No. 19) was elevated from the practice squad for this game, which makes sense when you see there are just three healthy corners available on the 53-man roster. Look for Lattimore to try and bounce back after last week’s rough game against Justin Jefferson, with Roby continuing to line up in the slot now that Adebo is back up to speed. Jordan Brown and Vincent Gray are both on the practice squad.
