Inside the Saints' initial 53-man roster: A position-by-position breakdown after cuts (2024)

The New Orleans Saints’ initial 53-man roster is set.

New Orleans trimmed its roster down from 90 players Tuesday, making several moves that could be considered surprising. The team’s work isn’t likely done, either. With hundreds of players hitting the waiver wire, the Saints will now evaluate whether to add anyone else to the team in the coming days ahead of their Sept. 8 opener against the Carolina Panthers.

Until then, here’s a deeper look at the 53-man group — with a position-by-position breakdown:

Quarterback (3)

Derek Carr, Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler:The big question here is who won the backup quarterback job. And good luck guessing. Coach Dennis Allen declined to disclose the winner when he met with reporters Tuesday.

Running back/fullback (5)

Alvin Kamara, Jamaal Williams, Jordan Mims, Adam Prentice and Taysom Hill: As expected, Kendre Miller landed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, which means he won’t be eligible to return until Week 5. Elsewhere, the Saints let go of James Robinson and Jacob Kibodi. Kibodi’s two-touchdown day in the team’s preseason finale wasn’t enough to earn him a spot.

Wide receiver (6)

Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Cedrick Wilson, A.T. Perry, Bub Means, Mason Tipton:The Saints ended up keeping six receivers, which makes sense when you factor in special teams and the lack of proven names in this group overall. Tipton is the feel-good story of this group. The undrafted free agent out of Yale made it despite missing weeks because of a hamstring injury. That's a sign of how dominant of a camp he was having before the injury.

Tight end (3)

Juwan Johnson, Foster Moreau, Dallin Holker: Holker still made the 53 as an undrafted free agent, even with an ankle injury that sidelined him for the last two preseason games. That was to be expected.

Offensive line (8)

Taliese Fuaga, Lucas Patrick, Erik McCoy, Cesar Ruiz, Trevor Penning, Oli Udoh, Landon Young, Nick Saldiveri: How the Saints handled the offensive line was the biggest surprise of the day. Undrafted free agent Kyle Hergel, veteran Shane Lemieux and seventh-rounder Josiah Ezirim — all thought to be candidates for one of the final spots – were instead cut. As of now, having only eight linemen is a bold choice — especially since Saldiveri has missed a month with a calf injury. This is arguably the weakest spot on New Orleans’ roster, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Saints add more help up front in the coming days.

Special teams (3)

K Blake Grupe, P Matthew Hayball and LS Zach Wood: An incumbent did end up losing his job among the Saints’ specialists. Just not the one most people thought. Hayball, an undrafted free agent out of Vanderbilt, beat out Hedley to be the Saints’ punter next season. Both were inconsistent, but Hedley had a particularly rough preseason. As for keeping Grupe, the second-year kicker was more consistent than his challenger, Charlie Smyth. The Saints will hope Smyth will clear waivers.

Defensive end (5)

Cam Jordan, Carl Granderson, Chase Young, Payton Turner, Isaiah Foskey: No surprises here. Jack Heflin is a candidate to join the practice squad, a source with knowledge of the situation said.

Defensive tackle (5)

Nathan Shepherd, Bryan Bresee, Khalen Saunders, Khristian Boyd, Kendal Vickers: Vickers is a surprising addition, but it makes sense considering Saunders’ recent calf injury will reportedly cost him a few weeks.

Linebacker (6)

Demario Davis, Pete Werner, Willie Gay, D’Marco Jackson, Anfernee Orji, Jaylan Ford: Both Jackson (calf) and Ford (hamstring) are dealing with injuries, but it’s unknown publicly whether the ailments might cause them to miss the start of the season.

Cornerback (5)

Marshon Lattimore, Paulson Adebo, Alontae Taylor, Kool-Aid McKinstry, Rico Payton: Payton’s strong preseason helped solidify his spot on the roster. The 24-year-old undrafted rookie made it over others like Shemar Jean-Charles and Ugo Amadi. But perhaps the Saints felt as if they had no choice: A source said teams around the league were monitoring to see if Payton would become available.

Safety (4)

Tyrann Mathieu, Jordan Howden, Will Harris, J.T. Gray: Johnathan Abram’s release was unexpected given he seemed to be well in the mix for the Saints’ starting spot across from Mathieu. New Orleans would like to bring the veteran back to the practice squad, but whether that happens remains to be seen. In the meantime, this position feels a little light with Gray almost exclusively a full-time special-teamer.