Players for the New Orleans Saints and throughout the NFL make their final push for a roster spot in the final weekend of preseason action. The Saints, 0-2 thus far in preseason play, close out with a Friday game at the Dallas Cowboys. All NFL teams must trim down to a 53-man active roster by Sunday afternoon.
Every year in the NFL, there are surprising cuts from several teams. These are usually veterans, some with extensive starting experience. Here are some of the vested veterans who could find themselves looking for other teams when the Saints trim down their roster this weekend.
Jordan Howden
Howden is among up to eight players fighting for what is probably 2-3 remaining jobs in the New Orleans secondary. While one of the team's top special teams contributors,
he's done little to make a mark defensively. In three NFL seasons, all with New Orleans, Howden has 2 interceptions (both in 2024), along with 7 pass breakups, a fumble return for a touchdown, 1 sack, and 2 tackles for loss. After major inconsistencies in coverage over his first two years, Howden saw only 25% of the team's defensive snaps in 2025 despite appearing in 16 contests.
Jordan Howden may be the odd-man out in the Saints secondary. He's been used as both a deep safety and in the slot, but New Orleans has better options at both positions. For Howden, it may come down to whether he's a better special teams player than the other defensive backs competing for those final couple spots.
Isaac Yiadom
Like Howden, Yiadom could be caught up in the numbers game without the playing ability to overcome it. Kool-Aid McKinstry and Quincy Riley will start, with Martin Emerson as the likely third corner. Jayden Price has also emerged with a strong training camp to earn a spot on the depth chart. Additionally, Jonas Sanker is being given the first shot at replacing the departed Alontae Taylor with Price, Julian Blackmon, and rookie Lorenzo Styles also in that mix.
Remember that Yiadom was the primary outside corner opposite McKinstry last season. After three games, he was replaced by Riley because of ineffective play. Over the last 13 games, Yiadom would get a meager seven defensive snaps. That was before signing Emerson and the emergence of Price this offseason. If the Saints don't carry a fifth corner or decide to fill the spot with one of the other defensive backs, it's easy to see Yiadom looking for a new team by end of weekend.
Tyree Wilson
Yiadom and Howden have been with the Saints for multiple seasons. Wilson is in his first year with New Orleans after an offseason trade. The Saints sent a 2026 fifth round draft pick to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for Wilson and a 2026 seventh round choice. For Wilson, the seventh overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, it was a chance to jump-start a career after being a draft bust.
Wilson has done virtually nothing in either camp practices or preseason to shed that label. Even with Chris Rumph II, very much on the roster bubble himself, being moved to linebacker, Wilson may not have done enough to make this team. Anfernee Jennings, another offseason pickup, seems ahead of Wilson on the depth chart. First or second-year players Michael Heldman, Garrett Nelson, and Fadil Diggs have also shown flashes that Wilson has not. In the unlikely event the Saints carry a fifth edge rusher behind Chase Young, Cameron Jordan, Carl Granderson, and Jennings, it could go to Heldman, Diggs, or Nelson over Tyree Wilson. Thus, cementing his draft bust label.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: 3 veteran Saints defenders who could be surprise roster cuts
