The New Orleans Saints preseason is in the books; three weeks of exhibition games and joint practices with the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Rams, and Jacksonville Jaguars have led up to the difficult process of whittling down the roster from 90 players to just 53. Some guys helped themselves and climbed the ladder to earn a roster spot after falling short in the past. Others took a step back and could be left on the outside looking in. A few of them won't step on an NFL field again. It isn't easy, but it's the business of pro football.
Here's our final 53-man roster projection, with predicted cuts before Sunday's NFL deadline at 5 p.m. CT.
Quarterbacks (2)
- On the roster: Tyler Shough, Spencer Rattler
- On the outs: Zach Wilson, Hunter Dekkers
Rattler took the second-team practice reps at quarterback this week, which signals that he's the backup. And
if that's the case there's no reason to keep Wilson on the 53-man roster. Stash him on the practice squad if the coaches feel he has more to offer than Dekkers, sure, but it's developing into the same situation they were in with Jake Haener last season. Unless another team offers a trade for Rattler the Saints can't refuse, it just makes more sense to keep two passers with Tyler Shough on top of the depth chart.
Running backs (4)
- On the roster: Travis Etienne Jr., Alvin Kamara, Kendre Miller, Audric Estime
- On the outs: Devin Neal, CJ Donaldson, Zamir White
It's really unfortunate that Ty Chandler suffered a season-ending injury; he was positioning himself to make the team, at least while Kamara is recovering from a knee injury in the opening weeks. Without him, it's looking like a clear-cut call between the top four backs and the rest of the group. Trading for White so recently doesn't guarantee him a roster spot when the Saints and San Francisco 49ers essentially skipped the waiver wire by swapping two players who weren't going to make their teams. Neal could also return to the practice squad but it's not the end of the world if he gets claimed on waivers. He's also an injured reserve candidate.
Tight ends (3)
- On the roster: Juwan Johnson, Noah Fant, Oscar Delp
- On the outs: Cody Hardy, Treyton Welch, Zaire Mitchell-Paden
Losing Moliki Matavao hurts, as he was well on his way to earning a roster spot. But he's probably the only exception the Saints would have made to keep four tight ends instead of three (Taysom Hill was that exception last season). Any of the other three tight ends could re-sign with the practice squad. Welch played his heart out against the Dallas Cowboys on Friday night but it probably isn't enough to win a roster spot. Yet.
Wide receivers (5)
- On the roster: Chris Olave, Devaughn Vele, Bryce Lance, Barion Brown, Bub Means
- On the outs: Jordyn Tyson (injured reserve), Mason Tipton (physically unable to perform), Ronnie Bell, Kevin Austin Jr., Trey Palmer, Jalen Moreno-Cropper, Brock Rechsteiner (suspended six games)
Tyson is expected to start the season on injured reserve; he'll take one of two slots the Saints can use on Sunday to put a player on IR without keeping them on the 53-man roster first. Tipton should transition to the in-season PUP list while he continues to recover from last year's groin injury. The Saints could roster a sixth receiver in his place, especially if Brown is going to have a big role returning kicks on special teams, but there shouldn't be much concern about the other guys on this list not clearing waivers. Rechsteiner could re-sign with the practice squad after missing the first six weeks with a suspension.
Offensive line (10)
- On the roster: Kelvin Banks Jr. (tackle), David Edwards (guard), Erik McCoy (center), Cesar Ruiz (guard), Taliese Fuaga (tackle), Asim Richards (tackle), Jeremiah Wright (guard), Will Sherman (guard/center), Easton Kilty (guard), Xavier Truss (guard/tackle)
- On the outs: Torricelli Simpkins III (center), Barry Wesley (tackle), Alan Herron (tackle), Alex Wollschlaeger (tackle)
The only way Simpkins makes the team is if the Saints want a backup for Erik McCoy's backup (Sherman); he's had a rough summer after committing to center full-time, and he looks more like a practice squad candidate than he did this time last year. Truss spent the 2025 season as a healthy scratch in 11 games and was limited to blocking for field goals when he did dress out, but he's done well in the preseason after moving to guard from right tackle. You could make the case for a different ninth or tenth offensive lineman here, but it's likely the Saints would add depth on the waiver wire or through a trade with another team like they did last year in adding Richards, Truss, and Luke Fortner. They can risk stashing the others on their practice squad.
Special teams (3)
- On the roster: Zach Wood (snapper), Ryan Wright (punter), Daniel Carlson (kicker)
- On the outs: Tanner Brown (kicker), Charlie Smyth (kicker)
Carlson gets the edge at kicker, but don't be surprised if the Saints don't have one on their roster Sunday evening. He hasn't exactly run away with the job since signing earlier this week -- at least not until he knocked a 53-yard field goal through the uprights to beat Dallas. They could trade for another team's understudy or bring other free agents in for a tryout. We haven't seen Carlson (or Brown, or Smyth) make the kicks he needs to hit to win this competition.
Defensive line (5)
- On the roster: Vernon Broughton, Nathan Shepherd, Christen Miller, Davon Godchaux, John Ridgeway III
- On the outs: Khristian Boyd, Myles Cole, Jay'Viar Suggs, Brien Taylor Jr., Khalil Saunders
You'd like to find room for Boyd, given how much time Miller, Godchaux, and Ridgeway have missed with injuries (and that's not mentioning how Broughton lost his entire rookie year), unless the coaching staff is ready to go in another direction. Two different coaching staffs have been hesitant to play him. Ridgeway has only had one full day of practice reps since Aug. 9 and could be another injured reserve candidate.
Edge rushers (5)
- On the roster: Chase Young, Carl Granderson, Cameron Jordan, Anfernee Jennings, Tyree Wilson
- On the outs: Michael Heldman, Fadil Diggs, Garrett Nelson, Malakai Williams
We haven't seen anything from Jennings or Wilson this preseason, but for very different reasons. Jennings was an observer with the other starters and key backups. Wilson was held out of the first exhibition game with a minor injury and only saw 11 snaps in the second one. But if Jordan's Week 1 availability is in doubt, it would make sense to roster both of them. Could the Saints circle back on their Kayvon Thibodeaux trade talks?
Linebackers (5)
- On the roster: Kaden Elliss, Pete Werner, Danny Stutsman, Jaylan Ford, Isaiah Stalbird
- On the outs: Jackson Sirmon, Chris Rumph II
Rumph missed most of training camp with an ankle injury and could be an IR candidate, while Sirmon looks like a good player to stash on the practice squad. Barring something unexpected like another team trading for Werner (which would push Stutsman into the starting lineup), the linebacker corps appears set. Ford exited the Cowboys game early with an injury, which is worth monitoring.
Safeties (6)
- On the roster: Justin Reid, Jonas Sanker, Julian Blackmon, Terrell Burgess, Jordan Howden, Lorenzo Styles Jr.
- On the outs: Elliott Davison
Will Styles make the team? He's done his job on special teams so well that we're keeping him, but the Saints could try to run deeper somewhere else and sneak him onto the practice squad. Burgess and Howden may be competing with each other for a roster spot but there's room for both of them, for now. Davison has had a good summer but it appears he's headed back to the practice squad after waiting patiently on it throughout his 2025 rookie year.
Cornerbacks (5)
- On the roster: Kool-Aid McKinstry, Quincy Riley, Martin Emerson Jr., Jayden Price, Isaac Yiadom
- On the outs: TJ Hall Jr., Dalys Beanum, Mike Reid, David Long Jr., Michael Davis
Rezjohn Wright would have made the team if hip surgery hadn't landed him on injured reserve, and now it looks like the Saints almost have to keep Yiadom on the 53-man roster as a backup. They brought in experienced journeymen like Long and Davis for extended tryouts this week but you have to question how much confidence they give you in a full-time roll. Should the Saints trade for another corner?
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Breaking down our final New Orleans Saints 53-man roster projection
