The New Orleans Saints have made their roster cuts, but that’s only the first step in a weeklong process of fine-tuning their roster. Many of the players who were let go on Monday and Tuesday are subject to waivers, which gives teams an opportunity to claim them.
We’ve gone over many of the rules already, which you can brush up on here. NFL practice squad rules are kind of tricky. These days, the 16-man practice squad can have up to six players with three or more years of experience (defined as “accrued seasons,” which means spending at least six games per year on the roster, injured reserve, or PUP list) and ten players with two or fewer accrued seasons.
It’s different from the waiver wire, which gives all teams the opportunity to claim players with three or fewer years of experience after they’ve been let go. Players with four or more accrued seasons become free agents after being cut and are not subject to waivers. So while not everybody who signs with the practice squad has gone on waivers first, everyone who clears waivers is eligible for the practice squad.
Now that we know who has been let go (and how), let’s go through the list:
Players with three or more accrued seasons (some will test waivers)RB Cam Akers (4 accrued seasons)RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire (5 accrued seasons)G/C Shane Lemieux (5 accrued seasons)WR Dante Pettis (6 accrued seasons)DE Jonah Williams (4 accrued seasons)LB D’Marco Jackson (3 accrued seasons, subject to waivers)S Terrell Burgess (4 accrued seasons)
Because there are smart people working in the front office who keep track of these things, almost everyone in this group will avoid the waiver wire. Up to six of them could return to the practice squad. It’s something to watch out for. So who will actually be available on waivers? Less than 3% of players waived this week will be claimed, given how every team wants to keep their own guys and doing so would push someone else off the 53-man roster, but it does happen. Let’s run through the list.
In terms of salary, this group earns at least $17,500 weekly on the practice squad. Teams can bid against each other up to $22,000 in weekly compensation.
Players with two or fewer accrued seasons (all will test waivers)QB Jake Haener (2 accrued seasons)RB Marcus Yarns (0 accrued seasons)TE Treyton Welch (0 accrued seasons)TE Seth Green (0 accrued seasons)TE Michael Jacobson (0 accrued seasons)OT Josiah Ezirim (0 accrued seasons)OT Jonathan Mendoza (0 accrued seasons)OG Kyle Hergel (1 accrued season)OG Easton Kilty (0 accrued seasons)G/C Mike Panasiuk (0 accrued seasons)WR Kevin Austin Jr. (1 accrued season)WR Roderick Daniels (0 accrued seasons)WR Moochie Dixon (0 accrued seasons)P James Burnip (0 accrued seasons)K Charlie Smyth (0 accrued seasons, IPP exemption)DE Jasheen Davis (0 accrued seasons)DE Fadil Diggs (0 accrued seasons)DE Isaiah Foskey (2 accrued seasons)DE Jeremiah Martin (0 accrued seasons)DT Jayden Peevy (0 accrued seasons)DT Omari Thomas (0 accrued seasons)LB Nephi Sewell (2 accrued seasons)LB Tyreem Powell (0 accrued seasons)SF Elliott Davison (0 accrued seasons)CB Dalys Beanum (0 accrued seasons)CB Rico Payton (1 accrued season)CB Jayden Price (0 accrued seasons)
This second group contains the players who could actually be poached on the waiver wire come Wednesday’s deadline (11 a.m. CT). But like we mentioned earlier, any time a player picks a player off of waivers, they have to replace someone on their 53-man roster with them. It’s not uncommon for the Saints to have everyone clear waivers in a given year, but it does happen. What’s more common is for teams to bid against each other to try and recruit players to their practice squad. The minimum salary for this group is $13,000 a week.
One other factor we didn’t mention — if the Saints use the International Player Pathway exemption for Irish kicker Charlie Smyth, he can stay on their practice squad as a 17th player throughout the season, but he isn’t allowed to be activated for a game. They chose not to use that exemption last year in case he was needed in an emergency. Otherwise, he can be signed to the practice squad like anyone else in this group.
So, with all that in mind: Which 16 (or 17) players are you choosing for the Saints practice squad?