Saints' 53-man roster: What to think after final cut-downs

Other roster changes will come as the Saints assess the list of waived and released players.

NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Saints trimmed their roster to 53 players before the Saturday deadline, but more changes are likely.

The preseason ended with a number of players inactive because of injury. For a player to be put on injured reserve and then return to play later in the season, he must first be put on the 53-man roster.

Without knowing the extent of injuries to players like linebacker Craig Robertson or defensive tackle Mario Edwards Jr., this is an important distinction.

The Saints also will carry defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins on the roster as he nears his return from an Achilles injury. He returned to practice during the week but will not be game-ready until sometime after Week 1.

The Saints must also adjust to the Week 1 suspension for David Onyemata, who doesn't count against the initial 53 until he returns after the opening game. 

Other roster changes will come as the Saints assess the list of waived and released players. Among current Saints, quarterback Taysom Hill and wideout Austin Carr were waiver claims in the immediate aftermath of the initial roster cut-downs.

• Among other notes, the placement of center/guard Cameron Tom on injured reserve kept the Saints from having to decide between him and Will Clapp, another interior lineman selected in the seventh round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Tom had been handling most second-team snaps behind rookie starting center Erik McCoy. 

• Also, the Saints have only two tight ends on the initial roster with veterans Jared Cook and Josh Hill, so it would not be surprising to see them add a player at that position. Waived seventh-round selected rookie Alize Mack could be practice-squad option.

• The Saints also opted to keep six wideouts, with one of them being undrafted rookie return specialist Deonte Harris. Keith Kirkwood has experience in the Saints offense, which presumably made him a more valuable option than waived rookie Emmanuel Butler, who impressed during camp.

• The release of Chris Banjo also was a surprise, but the Saints probably liked what they saw of J.T. Gray on special teams in his five regular season games as an undrafted rookie last season.

Saints 53-man roster after initial cut-down:

Quarterbacks (3): Drew Brees, Teddy Bridgewater, Taysom Hill.

Running backs (4): Alvin Kamara, Latavius Murray, Dwayne Washington, Zach Line.

Wide receivers (6): Michael Thomas, Ted Ginn Jr., Tre'Quan Smith, Keith Kirkwood, Austin Carr, Deonte Harris.

Tight ends (2): Jared Cook, Josh Hill.

Offensive line (9): Terron Armstead, Andrus Peat, Erik McCoy, Larry Warford, Ryan Ramczyk, Nick Easton, Will Clapp, Ethan Greenidge, Patrick Omameh.

Defensive line (9): Cameron Jordan, Marcus Davenport, Trey Hendrickson, Wes Horton, Sheldon Rankins, Mario Edwards Jr., Malcom Brown, Taylor Stallworth, Shy Tuttle.

Linebackers (6): Demario Davis, A.J. Klein, Alex Anzalone, Craig Robertson, Kaden Elliss, Vince Biegel.

Defensive backs (11): Marshon Lattimore, Eli Apple, P.J. Williams, Vonn Bell, Marcus Williams, Ken Crawley, Patrick Robinson, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Saquon Hampton, J.T. Gray, Justin Hardee Sr.

Specialists (3): Thomas Morstead, Wil Lutz, Zach Wood.