- The Saints waived offensive lineman Tyrus Thompson from injured reserve, reports Nick Underhill of The Advocate (Twitter link). Thompson has bounced from roster to roster since being chosen in the sixth round of the 2015 draft, but has never appeared in a regular season game.
- The Saints were disappointed with high-priced free agent signing Coby Fleener after the first two weeks of the season, but the tight end has turned it around since, writes Herbie Teope of NOLA.com. After picking up a meager three catches on 12 targets in his first pair of games as a Saint, the ex-Colt totaled 10 receptions on 16 targets over the previous two. “I feel like over the last two or three weeks here, he’s really starting to, ‘OK, I got it, I understand what’s going on. I know what Drew’s (Brees) looking for,” assistant head coach/tights ends Dan Campbell told Teope.
No, this is not a re-post. The Saints are signing offensive lineman Khalif Barnes, according to Nick Underhill of The Advocate (on Twitter). To make room on the roster, cornerback Brian Dixon is being released. The Saints made this exact same transaction in reverse on Saturday. 
The 34-year-old Barnes has been yo-yo’d on and off of the Saints’ roster this year. After being cut on October 1st, Barnes apparently did not drift far from New Orleans. Coach Sean Payton said that Barnes was not in football shape in September, but his conditioning is presumably better now.
Dixon, a third-year UDFA out of Division II Northwest Missouri State, played in all 32 of New Orleans’ contests in 2014-15 as a backup. Given the way the Saints have been playing with the roster, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him return in the near future.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
The Saints are planning on moving veteran safety Jairus Byrd to the bench, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Other changes could also be coming to the New Orleans defense, which ranks 30th in DVOA through three weeks, per Rapoport.
[RELATED: New Orleans Saints Depth Chart]
Byrd, 29, has struggled through three games this season, and was notably beaten by running back Devonta Freeman and the Falcons last week. It’s a small sample size to be sure, but Byrd currently ranks as the No. 49 safety in the league among 74 qualifiers, according to Pro Football Focus. Second-round rookie Vonn Bell will presumably see more snaps with Byrd headed to the sideline.
“I think the status quo sometimes can be your enemy,” head coach Sean Payton told reporters, including Nick Underhill of the Advocate, earlier this week. “I think you look at every area, not just one specific area. No different to the meeting schedule to how they are practicing, you look at all of that.”
The Saints signed Byrd to a six-year, $54MM deal prior to the 2014 campaign, and that contract has proven to be one of the worst free agent accords in recent memory. Strapped for cap space, New Orleans converted a portion of Byrd’s 2015 base salary into a signing bonus, making it even more difficult to part ways with the defensive back.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
For the second time in a month, the Saints made the decision to cut tackle Khalif Barnes, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. Third-year cornerback Brian Dixon will return to the team’s active roster after spending time this season on the Saints’ practice squad.
The 34-year-old Barnes has spent plenty of time on the fringe for the Saints this summer, working out for the team on multiple occasions and now being cut for the second time. Sean Payton said in September, when both he and Dixon failed to make New Orleans’ 53-man roster, Barnes was not yet in football shape. The Saints then re-signed him two weeks later after he presumably worked his way into shape.
Barnes did not see action for the Saints this season after playing for the Jaguars and Raiders for 11 years. A starter of 117 games since entering the league as a second-round Jags pick in 2005, Barnes started just one game for the Raiders last season — his final year with the team he played for from 2009-15.
Dixon rejoins a Saints team in dire need of experience at corner after losing both Delvin Breaux and second-year player P.J. Williams to injuries. A third-year UDFA out of Division II Northwest Missouri State, Dixon played in all 32 of New Orleans’ contests in 2014-15 as a backup. He’ll likely function in that role again.
The Saints have Sterling Moore, whom they signed late in the summer, and UDFAs Ken Crawley and De’Vante Harris as their top three corners presently. Dixon saw action for both Rob Ryan and Dennis Allen‘s units in 2015, so system acclimation probably won’t be an issue.
The Saints, after giving up an NFL-record 45 touchdown passes last season, rank 25th against the pass this season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
- The Saints moved defensive end Obum Gwacham to IR to make room for Khalif Barnes, whom they signed earlier today, Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com reports. It’s unclear, per Katzenstein, what injury forced Gwacham to IR. But the defender debuted Monday night and played seven special teams plays.
The Saints are expected to sign tackle Khalif Barnes today, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Barnes had multiple auditions with the Saints this month and he finally has landed a deal with New Orleans.
The tackle hooked on with New Orleans towards the end of the preseason but he did not make the final 53-man cut in early September. Coach Sean Payton indicated that Barnes didn’t make the team initially because he wasn’t in football shape. Now, Barnes is presumably ready for live action.
Barnes played in 14 games for the Raiders last year, but he only started one contest. In his previous ten NFL seasons, Barnes started in more than 80% of his games.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
- The Saints waived wide receiver Kyle Prater from injured reserve, Nick Underhill of The Advocate tweets.
We’re coming up on Week 4 of the NFL season and that means that waiver claim priority will be based on the current league standings instead of last year’s. Of course, waiver priority is based on the inverted NFL standings, which have built in tiebreakers to sort out the many logjams that naturally occur.
Throughout the offseason and the first three weeks of the regular season, the Titans enjoyed top priority thanks to their 3-13 finish last year. Now, we have a brand new pecking order. Here is a full rundown of the current waiver claim priority, which will change from week to week:
1. Jaguars
2. Saints
3. Bears
4. Browns
5. Chargers
6. Lions
7. Jets
8. Cardinals
9. Bills
10. Colts
11. Dolphins
12. 49ers
13. Buccaneers
14. Bengals
15. Titans
16. Redskins
17. Panthers
18. Falcons
19. Cowboys
20. Giants
21. Raiders
22. Packers
23. Chiefs
24. Rams
25. Seahawks
26. Texans
27. Steelers
28. Ravens
29. Eagles
30. Broncos
31. Vikings
32. Patriots
- The Saints auditioned defensive back Shak Randolph, a source tells Nick Underhill of The Advocate (on Twitter). Randolph, an SMU product, was signed by the Chiefs as an UDFA earlier this year, but Kansas City cut him from its practice squad earlier this month. New Orleans, which was already thin in the secondary, has experienced a rash of defensive back injuries lately. The club also worked out 2015 third-round cornerback D’Joun Smith today.