This is a tough break for Anfernee Orji. The New Orleans Saints waived the third-year linebacker to make room for backup quarterback Hunter Dekkers, who signed with the team after trying out at rookie minicamp over the weekend.
Orji, 24, signed with the Saints as an undrafted rookie himself in 2023 after playing college football at Vanderbilt. He did everything that was asked of him in his two years with New Orleans, including playing more than twice as many snaps on special teams (353) as defense (146) in 2024. But new additions to an already-crowded position group and a change in the defensive coaching staff left him on the outside looking in.
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Most of last season’s linebacker corps returned for 2025: starters Demario Davis and Pete Werner, plus top backups Nephi Sewell, Jaylan Ford, and D’Marco Jackson. Isaiah Stalbird is also competing for a roster spot this summer after the Saints drafted Danny Stutsman in the fourth round (from Oklahoma) and signed rookie free agent Tyreem Powell (from Rutgers).
Good luck to Orji in what’s next. He could join his former position coach Michael Hodges on the Cincinnati Bengals or follow Dennis Allen to the Chicago Bears, or try his hand elsewhere around the league.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints make room for a new QB by waiving third-year LB Anfernee Orji