Throughout the New Orleans Saints roster, there are heated position battles that are difficult to predict. The top of that list is the wide receivers group. New Orleans put so much effort into upgrading that unit, and with Jordyn Tyson, Chris Olave, Devaughn Vele, Bryce Lance, and Barion Brown a part of that group, only one spot likely remains for the other WRs on the roster.
The person who led that battle was WR Ja’Lynn Polk. The former second-round pick with the New England Patriots never found
his footing on his first team, and struggles plagued his first season. Unfortunately, he was injured before year 2 could start and was ruled out for the entire season, however the Saints still took a gamble on him and made a trade which included a 7th-rounder and Polk for a 6th-rounder. Even when injured, Polk made sure to create chemistry with his potential future QBs, including Tyler Shough. With his talent coming out of college and the chemistry he built, Polk chould have won the WR battle, but there’s a reason I say chould have.
Today, the Saints announced that Polk was placed on the reserve/retiring list, which means the young WR’s career in the NFL is over.
This announcement very unexpected. As I mentioned, Polk was the favorite and has been present for most of the practices. He was out for personal reasons during the last 2 days, which could have led up to his decision to retire from the league. As of now, those reasons are unknown.
Regarding the WR battle, this news changes everything. Now, that last remaining spot is wide open, and players like Brock Rechsteiner, Mason Tipton, Ronnie Bell, Trey Palmer, Jalen Moreno-Cropper, Kevin Austin Jr., and Bub Means have a clearer path to winning it. But there are still way too many players involved in this competition to choose a potential winner.
