New Orleans Saints cornerback Rico Payton (36) reacts after sacking Tennessee Titans quarterback Malik Willis (7) during the second half of a preseason NFL football game at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024. (Photo by Sophia Germer, The Times-Picayune) The saying goes that the NFL stands for Not For Long, and it is for that reason that the word “initial” always belongs in front of the words “53-man roster.
” The New Orleans Saints have their 53-man roster — for now. Some of the details will almost certainly change in the coming days, as the Saints fine-tune their composition after reviewing the moves that have been made around the league. “Our personnel department has been hard at work, and this has been going on well before today,” said coach Dennis Allen.
The Saints, like every other team, will pore through the list of suddenly available players in an attempt to find someone who could shore up a weak spot on their roster. The work needs to be done in a hurry, either to put in a waiver claim on a young player or to get out ahead of the competition on a veteran who is suddenly out of work. That said, they now have the major framework in place for the roster they will take to the field this season.
There is always some churn at the bottom, but for the most part, this is who they will take to the field this season. And there are plenty of interesting things to get into. When the final dust settled, four players who signed with the team as undrafted rookie free agents made the initial 53-man roster: Tight end Dallin Holker, receiver Mason Tipton, cornerback Rico Payton and punter Matthew Hayball.
What is especially interesting about all those players is that they made the team despite some difficult moments. Tipton made the squad almost completely on the strength of his superb start to training camp. The Yale product injured his hamstring August 7 and did not play in a single preseason game.
He only recently returned to practice. Holker had a little more time to show what he could do, but he only played in one preseason game, suffering an ankle injury in the pre-warmup period against the San Francisco 49ers. Hayball, a native Australian, had some up-and-down moments in training camp and in the preseason, but he showed some improved consistency in the closing weeks of camp, and as Allen said, “Hayball is younger, I think he’s got a little bit more leg talent” than incumbent Lou Hedley.
Payton, in particular, is someone who drastically helped his own case when the lights came on. He had some incredibly rough moments early in camp, but came on strong later and then proved it in games. In three preseason contests, he recorded a sack and five passes defended.
“To see where some of these guys were when they first walked into the building, quite frankly I didn’t think some of them would have a chance,” Allen said. “And they just continued to work and continued to improve, and ultimately they did enough to get through this initial first round of roster moves. We’ll see how the rest of the week shapes up.
” Six of the Saints seven 2024 draft picks made the team, with the lone outlier being seventh round tackle Josiah Ezirim. Six of their seven 2023 draft picks are also on the 53-man roster, with the seventh, running back Kendre Miller, starting the season on injured reserve. Count the four undrafted rookies, and the Saints have 10 first-year players on the initial 53.
So it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise then that the Saints are a little bit younger than they were at this time last season. After roster cuts last season, the Saints were the NFL’s oldest team by average age, at 27.4 years old.
This year’s squad should still rank among the NFL’s older units, but it is on average a half-year younger, at 26.9 years old. The average age is brought up by eight players who are 30 or older, including two — Demario Davis and Cameron Jordan — who are 35.
But the Saints do have 16 players on their initial 53 who are 25 or younger. Allen said the team’s decision makers did not make a concerted effort to get younger. The Saints took a calculated risk when they waived Irishman Charlie Smyth in order to keep incumbent kicker Blake Grupe.
Smyth has obvious talent — his 65-yard field goal in a practice at Tulane opened some eyes, and it was one of a few he hit from 60-plus in camp. But he is a raw prospect who hadn’t even kicked an American football before last year, and there was some inconsistency that came with that. While Grupe can’t match Smyth’s range, he was more consistent on a day-to-day basis.
And it’s not like Grupe is a slouch, either: He made one from 54 yards in the preseason finale. “I like Blake Grupe,” Allen said. “.
.. When he’s gotten into games, he’s made the kicks that he’s needed to make, I think he’s been consistent in practice.
I’ve seen an improved player from even where he was at this point last year, so I feel very confident about that.” In a vacuum, the decision made perfect sense: Since Smyth came over via the International Player Pathway, the Saints get a roster exemption that allows them to carry Smyth on the practice squad without him taking up one of the 16 spots. He also only kicked one field goal in the preseason, meaning other teams have almost no information on him.
But there’s still a chance another team will take a shot on Smyth. He can be claimed by any of the 31 other teams on waivers, and if that happens, the Saints won’t get a chance to see his potential play out in New Orleans..
