Breaking down our final New Orleans Saints 53-man roster projection

Breaking down our final New Orleans Saints 53-man roster projection.

Key points

• On the outs: Jordyn Tyson (injured reserve), Mason Tipton (physically unable to perform), Ronnie Bell, Kevin Austin Jr., Trey Palmer, Jalen Moreno-Cropper, Brock Rechsteiner (suspended six games).
• On the roster: Justin Reid, Jonas Sanker, Julian Blackmon, Terrell Burgess, Jordan Howden, Lorenzo Styles Jr.
• On the roster: Chris Olave, Devaughn Vele, Bryce Lance, Barion Brown, Bub Means.
• On the outs: Torricelli Simpkins III (center), Barry Wesley (tackle), Alan Herron (tackle), Alex Wollschlaeger (tackle).
• Here's our final 53-man roster projection, with predicted cuts before Sunday's NFL deadline at 5 p.m.

Meanwhile, the New Orleans Saints preseason is in the books; three weeks of exhibition games and joint practices with the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Rams, and Jacksonville Jaguars have led up to the tough process of whittling down the roster from 90 players to just 53. Some guys supported themselves and climbed the ladder to earn a roster spot after falling short previously. Others took a step back and could be left on the outside looking in. A few of them won't step on an NFL field again. It isn't straightforward, but it's the business of pro football.

Here's our final 53-man roster projection, with predicted cuts before Sunday's NFL deadline at 5 p.m. CT.

Rattler took the second-team practice reps at quarterback this week. It signals that he's the backup. And if that's the case there's no reason to keep Wilson on the 53-man roster. Stash him on the practice squad if the coaches feel he has more to offer than Dekkers, sure, but it's developing into the same situation they were in with Jake Haener last season. Unless another team offers a trade for Rattler the Saints can't refuse, it just makes more sense to keep two passers with Tyler Shough on top of the depth chart.

It's really unfortunate that Ty Chandler suffered a season-ending injury; he was positioning himself to create the team, at least while Kamara is recovering from a knee injury in the opening weeks. Without him, it's looking like a clear-cut call between the top four backs and the rest of the group. Trading for White so lately doesn't guarantee him a roster spot when the Saints and San Francisco 49ers essentially skipped the waiver wire by swapping two players who weren't going to produce their teams. Neal could additionally return to the practice squad but it's not the end of the world if he gets maintained on waivers. He's additionally an injured reserve candidate.

As he was well on his way to earning a roster spot, losing Moliki Matavao hurts. But he's probably the only exception the Saints would have created to keep four tight ends instead of three (Taysom Hill was that exception last season). Any of the other three tight ends could re-sign with the practice squad. Welch played his heart out against the Dallas Cowboys on Friday night but it probably isn't enough to win a roster spot. Yet.

Tyson is projected to start the season on injured reserve; he'll take one of two slots the Saints can apply on Sunday to put a player on IR without keeping them on the 53-man roster first. Tipton should transition to the in-season PUP list while he continues to recover from last year's groin injury. The Saints could roster a sixth receiver in his place, especially if Brown is going to have a major role returning kicks on special teams, but there shouldn't be much concern concerning the other guys on this list not clearing waivers. Rechsteiner could re-sign with the practice squad after missing the first six weeks with a suspension.

On the roster: Kelvin Banks Jr. (tackle), David Edwards (guard), Erik McCoy (center), Cesar Ruiz (guard), Taliese Fuaga (tackle), Asim Richards (tackle), Jeremiah Wright (guard), Will Sherman (guard/center), Easton Kilty (guard), Xavier Truss (guard/tackle).

Meanwhile, the only way Simpkins makes the team is if the Saints want a backup for Erik McCoy's backup (Sherman); he's had a rough summer after committing to center full-time, and he looks more like a practice squad candidate than he did this time last year. Truss spent the 2025 season as a healthy scratch in 11 games and was limited to blocking for field goals when he did dress out, but he's done well in the preseason after moving to guard from right tackle. You could create the case for a different ninth or tenth offensive lineman here, but it's probable the Saints would add depth on the waiver wire or through a trade with another team like they did last year in adding Richards, Truss, and Luke Fortner. They can risk stashing the others on their practice squad.

Carlson gets the edge at kicker, but don't be surprised if the Saints don't have one on their roster Sunday evening. He hasn't exactly run away with the job since signing earlier this week — at least not until he knocked a 53-yard field goal through the uprights to beat Dallas. They could trade for another team's understudy or bring other free agents in for a tryout. We haven't seen Carlson (or Brown, or Smyth) create the kicks he needs to hit to win this competition.

You'd like to find room for Boyd, given how much time Miller, Godchaux, and Ridgeway have missed with injuries (and that's not mentioning how Broughton lost his entire rookie year), unless the coaching staff is ready to go in another direction. Two different coaching staffs have been hesitant to play him. Ridgeway has only had one full day of practice reps since Aug. 9 and could be another injured reserve candidate.

We haven't seen anything from Jennings or Wilson this preseason, but for particularly different reasons. Jennings was an observer with the other starters and key backups. Wilson was held out of the first exhibition game with a minor injury and only saw 11 snaps in the second one. But if Jordan's Week 1 availability is in doubt, it would create sense to roster both of them. Could the Saints circle back on their Kayvon Thibodeaux trade discussions?

While Sirmon looks like a good player to stash on the practice squad, rumph missed most of training camp with an ankle injury and could be an IR candidate. Barring something unexpected like another team trading for Werner (which would push Stutsman into the starting lineup), the linebacker corps appears set. Ford exited the Cowboys game early with an injury. It is worth monitoring.

On the roster: Justin Reid, Jonas Sanker, Julian Blackmon, Terrell Burgess, Jordan Howden, Lorenzo Styles Jr. On the outs: Elliott Davison.

Will Styles create the team? He's done his job on special teams so well that we're keeping him, but the Saints could try to run deeper somewhere else and sneak him onto the practice squad. Burgess and Howden may be competing with each other for a roster spot but there's room for both of them, for now. Davison has had a good summer but it appears he's headed back to the practice squad after waiting patiently on it throughout his 2025 rookie year.

Rezjohn Wright would have created the team if hip surgery hadn't landed him on injured reserve, and now it looks like the Saints almost have to keep Yiadom on the 53-man roster as a backup. They brought in experienced journeymen like Long and Davis for extended tryouts this week but you have to question how much confidence they offer you in a full-time roll. Should the Saints trade for another corner?

For now, breaking down our final New Orleans Saints 53 remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.