3 players the Saints could regret releasing in final roster cuts

All NFL rosters are now set at their 53-player maximum to start the regular season. The New Orleans Saints made several moves on Sunday hours before the deadline. Many were expected, but a few were surprises and prompted speculation. Here are some players that New Orleans may regret in their parting of ways.

Three rookie wide receiver draft picks, Jordyn Tyson, Barion Brown, and Bryce Lance, all had standout training camps. As expected, Chris Olave had a magnificent camp. Outside of them, you could make a strong case that Means was the team’s most consistent wideout. After missing all of 2025 and the last half of his 2024 rookie season with injuries, Means’ durability could be deemed as a concern. However, his route running and chemistry with every New Orleans quarterback stood out to all. It was thought that Means would at least be a reliable depth player as Tyson recovers from a hamstring injury. Instead, the Saints made the puzzling decision to stick with Kevin Austin Jr. over Means and Ronnie Bell, another camp standout. Means has shown development, while it’s clear that Austin has reached his low ceiling of a very limited receiver.

New Orleans had no major investment in White, trading away a linebacker (Deion Jones) who wasn’t going to make the team anyway. White looked sharp upon arrival and in the New Orleans preseason finale against Dallas, rushing for 23 yards and a touchdown on only 4 carries. A four-year veteran with good size, power, and underrated burst, White could have at least added experience and short yardage value to the backfield.

There’s still a good chance Zamir White will be re-signed to the practice squad. However, the Saints are taking a big chance by releasing him. New Orleans is in a precarious position in the backfield. Devin Neal and Ty Chandler are out for the season, with Alvin Kamara projected to miss the first month or more. That leaves the Saints with three healthy backs on the initial active roster. Kendre Miller is one of them, a player who has missed 30 of 51 career games because of injury. New Orleans likely brings back White or undrafted rookie CJ Donaldson to the practice squad, if not both. But the decision to initially keep three healthy backs, with one of them the fragile Miller, is a curious one.

Jay’Viar Suggs is one of a handful of Saints undrafted rookie defensive linemen who didn’t make it. It’s hard to project that a team could regret releasing an undrafted rookie. However, this is also a New Orleans team that’s been reported to have interest in trading for or signing another defensive lineman. The Saints struggled at that spot throughout camp and the preseason.

Suggs didn’t make a lot of headway on the official depth chart releases in training camp. Still, he had a strong finish and some believed he could be kept over a player like Khristian Boyd. There seems a good chance that Suggs is brought back to the practice squad. That is unless another team also sees his development potential and signs him off waivers before New Orleans gets the chance.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: 3 players the Saints could regret releasing in final roster cuts