ROSTER SHOCKER!!! Saints CUT All-Pro Special Teams Ace J.T. Gray | Who Replaces Him In New Orleans?

[Music] The Kellen Moore uh era will open Sunday in the dome against Arizona. Saints are a 6 and a half point underdog in that game. Uh Ellen Moore, Ellen Moore opened up the week with um some surprising news, man. Uh the Saints cut JT Gray today. Um JT Gray is a former allp pro specialteamer. He was a first team all pro specialte teamer and a second team allp pro specialteamer and he’s been the special teams captain for the New Orleans Saints and he’s a backup safety on the team who’s been with the team since he signed as a UDFA back in 2018. Um, so he’s entering his eighth NFL season and I guess this just came out of out of nowhere. I’d like to congratulate the Denver Broncos because they’re they’re about to get it a former allp pro special teamer because that’s just what Shawn Pay does. Uh, by the way, hat tip Nick Underh Hill was the first to report it. Um, Kellen Moore after practice when he met with reporters talked about the decision or I shouldn’t say after practice uh in his meeting with reporters on Mondays talked about the decision to release JT Gray. A lot of this comes down to the roster flexibility and uh that’s that’s the challenging part of it. We know the high quality player that he is, the impact he’s had on this organization. He’s a really good player. Um, you know, just with the roster as you kind of play play, uh, you know, the roster management part of this thing over the course of, you know, this season and throughout the next few weeks, you know, there’s a lot of challenges associated with that. And so, uh, it was a really tough one for us to do. Moore was non-committal about whether or not Gray could return on the practice squad. U, he was asked if they would call someone up for a JT Gray spot. Here’s what he said. we’re kind of in the moving a few pieces around and so obviously we’ll probably make some corresponding moves and you know I think a part of this is just there’s a lot of moves that you kind of have to navigate the first few weeks of the season and um and we have some you know guys on PUP and some guys on IR that certainly we anticipate eventually you know being a part of this thing and so you got to have the roster flexibility just to navigate all these all the all these moving pieces they did add uh and by the way all this news is at louisianaapasports.net net if you want to go read up on all of it. The the JT Gray piece, the Saints did add two players today. Uh defensive tackle Kosiah Izzard has been added to the practice squad and outside linebacker pass rusher IU Leota has also been added to the practice squad. I don’t know if either of those guys necessarily fills the void from JT Gray uh as a special teamer, but remember these are practice squad ads. These are not active roster ads. JT Gray was on the 53man active roster. So, they’re either going to have to sign a free agent to their active roster or sign someone from sign someone from the practice squad to the 53man roster. So, what direction they go, we’ll have to wait and see what what they do. But um this is one I certainly did not see coming because you just haven’t seen any kind of drop off in JT Gay’s play. And the leadership is another thing that’s so important as you’re trying to tie these two eras together, right? You have the the sort of Payton Dennis Allen era guys bridging with the new guys coming in with Kell Moore. And I can I I can certainly appreciate Moore wanting to bring in his own guys, but there are dudes like Cam Jordan and Deario Davis, Eric McCoy, guys that are veterans on this football team that are key glue guys and JT Grace certainly seem to be that guy on special teams. I mean, he’s special teams captain. So, that’s not an easy one to fill. Uh, my hope here, my hope is this is an opportunity to get younger. You know, maybe a young guy like Jordan Howden, who you used a fifth round draft pick on a couple of years ago, who hasn’t been able to to wrangle a starting spot in the secondary, obviously is, you know, you went and spent in free agency this year and you drafted Yonas Sanker, you brought in Reed. Um, maybe maybe that’s a spot where someone like Hen can earn a role. I I don’t know. I’m just I’m just throwing his name out there. It only definitively that’d be the guy. I’m just giving you a for instance. But my hope is you take a guy that’s entering his eighth year in JT Gray and in cutting him you get younger. Uh, but it is so interesting. You know, you look at this team and you wonder, are they really trying to win? Not adding a veteran quarterback, you know, riding with these two young guys. Um, you’re going to play two young tackles. You really don’t have an answer at corner opposite Kool-Aid McKenry. I mean, is Adam really that guy? Now, you take a veteran and JT Gray and and you show him the door. Um, it’s interesting to say the least, the approach. This is just not one that I would have anticipated seeing today, but it is after further review. We are brought to you by Evomore, Eva M. Evmore.com, evore.com. Uh, natural artisian water, a healthier alternative, and a Louisiana product. Find Evore at great local retailers. If they don’t have Evore where you shop, ask them why not. It’s a Louisiana product. Again, it’s from these ancient underground aquifers. This is something that never touches air until you uncap it and take that first delicious sip. It’s piped straight out of that well into their bottling plant. The only thing is filtered out is just the sediment from the ground. There’s nothing added, nothing taken away. It’s Evore. Eva M. Evore.com. That’s evore.com. Drink Evore. Um, one other thing with the New Orleans Saints as they get ready for their opener that’s absolutely disgusting is they are going to open up the Kell Moore era in absolutely hideous fashion. And I mean that in a literal sense, hideous fashion. Uh, the Saints are going to wear their new alternate gold jerseys week one against Arizona. They’re going to open up the home season by wearing those awful black helmets. the gaudy gold and black pants. I’m not sure there is a worse combination literally in the NFL than what we’re going to see the New Orleans Saints wear on Sunday. So, you cut an allpro special teamer and a team captain and decide you’re going to wear literally the ugliest uniform in the NFL in week one. Uh, go get them. No way to drum up excitement. Like, hey, if if the old adage is look good, play good. You look like crap, you play like crap. I think we’re going to expect that from New Orleans on Sunday. Hey, thanks so much for watching. Please leave your comments. I love to interact. And be sure to hit the red subscribe button below. After you. After you. [Music]

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Matt Moscona reacts to a shocking Saints roster move as New Orleans releases All-Pro special teams captain J.T. Gray just days before the season opener. What does this mean for the Saints’ locker room, their special teams unit, and Kellen Moore’s first season in charge? Plus, Matt shares his brutally honest thoughts on the Saints’ new alternate gold uniforms that will debut Week 1 against Arizona — and why they might be the ugliest in the NFL.

Photo Credit: USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

40 comments

  29. JT Gray has been a leader in that special teams room for years. However, haven't we been hearing for awhile now that Saints need to stop kicking cans down the road, get younger, cheaper athletic players that can build to something in the future? We drafted guys like Sanker, Riley and Stutsman not just for depth and sure as heck not to ride the bench.
    There's a New coach on special teams just like there's new coaches on offense and defense.

    They want guys tailored to their scheme, if that means some vets are being moved on from that's kind of the business at the end of the day.

    If they build better in the long run then no one will complain as long as new leaders and probowlers emerge.

  31. You literally say all the time that we need to get younger. And when they make a move to do that. You say "are they even trying to win" and in the same breath say congratulations to the Broncos for picking up an AllPro player if they get JT Grey. You dont even know what you be saying half the time bro.

  32. “Are they trying to win”? Well the saints hired all new coaches so that’s an indication that they are trying. I will say this about Matt, he’s passionate. However he spent the last two seasons poisoning the well with carr. Carr was neither the solution nor the problem but he probably would give us a better chance to win right now than the two qbs we’ve got. That said Matt you called for the team to get younger, cheaper and rebuild and that is what they are doing. They aren’t going to cut Demario Davis, Cam Jordan or Alvin Kimarra even though they are all nearing the end. Arguably cam is the only one that has really dropped off but all three have contributed so much that you just have to ride that out but everyone else is fair game imo. We don’t know the long term plan but my guess is that winning now is not necessarily the top priority but rather building the team and developing new talent. Another guess is that Loomis and Gayle benson have assured moore that he will have a few seasons to get it right and their past commitments to players and coaches would support that assumption. I’m excited to see what moore and company can do over these next 2-3 seasons to get the saints back to winning division titles and beyond, we just have to be patient.

  40. I'm all in with K. Moore and believes a new head coach has to make the best decisions for the team going into the season. I don't get this one. J.T. Gray is not only an all pro and special teams captain he is beloved by Saints fans. Im with Kellen Moore and support his decisions but this one hurt in many ways.

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