re: Updated roster, cap #'s, & F.A. needs

RB Jacquizz Rodgers & TE Jake Powell added

RB Rob Kelley & QB J.T. Barrett cut

Roster updated

That's close to what mine would be. The only big disagreement I would have is keeping Carr as the #6 WR. I think it will end up being Butler. Carr is in the returner battle though.

Returner will come from either the WR or CB position. I think it will be Sherels personally. Deonte Harris, Carr, & Cyril Grayson are his competition last I read.

Keeping 10 O-Linemen is a lot, but those would be a good 10 to choose.

RB Dwayne Washington is a hard player to pick against imo.

We could use another DE pretty bad. Hopefully reports of Hendrickson looking good are a good sign. Either hit on 1 of these guys or trade for one. We already don't have a 2020 2nd...I would consider any pick besides our 2020 1st. Every other position is pretty loaded right now.

I've been reading that Saquan Hampton is looking good early on at Safety.

Here's a decent projection from SaintsWire on Monday LINK

TE Jake Powell's 2019 cap # - 495 k

WR Travin Dural's 2019 cap # - 495 k

11 Vet Contracts yet to be released
RB Jacquizz Rodgers
FB Michael Burton
OT Marshall Newhouse
OT Ulrick John
OG Patrick Omameh
DT Sylvester Williams
DT Ziggy Hood
DE Geno Grissom
DE Wes Horton
LB Josh Martin
LB Colton Jumper

Derby is pretty athletic, only been playing the tight end spot for about 4 years. I’m excited to see what we can get out of him. He hasn’t really been given a chance to prove himself but I think he’s in the right place here.

LINK

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton announced that the team made three roster moves Saturday, including the release of veteran wide receiver Rishard Matthews. Matthews signed shortly before training camp and had a real shot to make the team, but Payton noted that, “It’s not for everyone,” and that Matthews left the team of his own volition. The Saints released Matthews with a “left squad” designation.

In addition to Matthews’ release, the Saints placed backup tackle Ulrick John on injured reserve and waived rookie tight end Jake Powell. John went down with a lower-leg injury during the preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings, and Powell was signed last week after incumbent tight ends Alize Mack and Garrett Griffin went down in practice. The team added veteran A.J. Derby a few days later, and he played well in the preseason game despite having little time to prepare.

Payton added that the team will bring in free agents to try out for the now-vacant roster spots later in the week; training camp practices open to the public will resume on Monday, Aug. 12.

Saints set to sign FB Shane Smith, source says; last played with Giants in 2018 LINK

The Saints entered Sunday with three vacant roster spots, but at least one of the positions will be filled.

The Saints are set to sign fullback Shane Smith, a source familiar with the situation told The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate.

Smith’s pending arrival leaves the Saints with two spots to address a day after the team terminated the contract of wide receiver Rishard Matthews, waived tight end Jake Powell and placed offensive lineman Ulrick John on injured reserve.

Smith also comes at a good time when considering fullback Michael Burton has missed a lot of training camp practices for unknown reasons, leaving the Saints with just fullback Zach Line.

The 6-foot-1, 240-pound Smith entered the league in 2017 as an undrafted free agent out of San Jose State with the New York Giants.

He appeared in 11 games with four starts in his rookie season, and then appeared in two games in 2018 before the Giants released him.

I just went through all the remaining Free Agents & these are the guys that stuck out to me...

RB - Jay Ajayi (#2 RB)
RB - Marshawn Lynch (#7 RB)
WR - Dez Bryant (#4 WR)
WR - Kelvin Benjamin (#12 WR)
TE - Austin Seferian-Jenkins (#2 TE)
OT - Jermey Parnell (#7 OT)
LB - Josh Bynes (#8 LB)
LB - Mason Foster (#16 LB)
LB - Manti Te'o (#18 LB)
S - Eric Berry (#10 S)

Not much legit talent left at all.

Maybe the Saints agreed to eat the dead money for the Jets. I’m not sure.

OT Chris Clark's 2019 cap # - 645 k.

FB Shane Smith's 2019 cap # - 570 k.

These are the 2 players we signed since losing 3 players after Game #1. Still have room to sign 1 more player now.

Saints bring in, sign former Colorado LB Drew Lewis LINK

The New Orleans Saints brought in former Colorado linebacker Drew Lewis on Wednesday, Aug 14, filling in another hole on the 90-man roster.

On Wednesday, Aug 14, the New Orleans Saints signed former Colorado linebacker Drew Lewis, most recently with the Houston Texans. Lewis was waived by the Texans on Jul 23.

The Atlanta native went to the University of Washington out of high school where he redshirted his freshman year. Lewis took his redshirted freshman year to Coffeyville Community College in Kansas, also counting Sylvester Williams as an alumnus, before heading for Colorado.

In three years playing middle linebacker for the Buffaloes, Lewis recorded 167 total tackles, 108 solo, 12 for a loss, five sacks and seven passes defensed.

Coming out after his senior season, Lewis attended Pro Day at Colorado and his numbers were strong. A 4.52 40, a 34-inch vertical and a 129-inch broad jump show him to be an explosive athlete. His bio on the Colorado website mentions that “Bruce Feldman from The Athletic ranked him at No. 32 on his top 50 list of “Freaks” in college football.” This due primarily to his ability to power clean 355-pounds, a figure that tied him for best on the team in that category.

A hit he laid on Arizona State receiver N’Keal Harry last year gave Lewis a reputation as being a savage tackler. Being signed following the 2019 NFL Draft as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Houston Texans, Lewis hasn’t had much opportunity to show what he can do at the NFL level.

Of interest, he was ranked by NFLDraftScout as their 22nd outside linebacker ahead of Kaden Elliss, the Saints’ seventh-round draft pick this year who was ranked 30th. He’ll be competing directly with Elliss for a roster spot now.

It’s not clear if Lewis will be asked to play against the Chargers when the Saints face them this Sunday, Aug 18, on the road in Los Angeles.

His 2019 cap # was just released...495 k.

With the signing of Drew Lewis...we're now at the maximum 90 players.