New Orleans Saints
Jones is returning to the Saints just two days after they released him. The 28-year-old has played in all five of New Orleans’ games this season and amassed 76 snaps (74 on special teams). While Jones hasn’t been a factor on offense, he has averaged 22.8 yards per kickoff return on eight tries.
Many months remain before teams know where they are picking in the 2026 draft, but many clubs have made moves to acquire 2026 draft capital. Headlined by the Browns, Rams and Cowboys’ efforts, here are the 2026 picks to have changed hands thus far. When more deals involving picks are made (or conditions on moves already completed become known), that information will be added.
Today’s practice squad moves in the NFL:
Arizona Cardinals
Buffalo Bills
Carolina Panthers
Dallas Cowboys
Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars
Las Vegas Raiders
Minnesota Vikings
New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints
Pittsburgh Steelers
San Francisco 49ers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tennessee Titans
Michael Davis has found another gig. After no team signed the veteran cornerback following the expiration of his Commanders deal, two clubs showed interest this week.
The Saints are adding Davis, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz. This is an active-roster deal, per NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo. Davis had agreed to join the Saints’ practice squad, but the Lions showed interest for what appears to be a P-squad deal. Instead, New Orleans offered a spot on its 53-man roster. That did the trick to add the experienced starter.
This will reunite Davis with Brandon Staley, the Saints’ DC hire. Staley coached Davis from 2021-23 with the Chargers. Davis parlayed his Los Angeles work into a one-year, $3.2MM Commanders pact. He is certainly better known for Bolts contributions, however, having signed a three-year, $25MM contract to stay with the team in 2021. That came during Staley’s first offseason as Chargers HC.
Washington did not see much from Davis last season, using him as a starter in only two games. Pro Football Focus graded the 6-foot-2 DB as one of the NFL’s worst cornerback regulars in 2024, and the Commanders made multiple investments at the position this offseason. Davis is now 30 but will be given another chance — albeit for a 1-4 team.
A Charger from 2017-23, Davis started 74 games with the team. He was a regular first-stringer from 2018-23, lining up in Staley’s defense during much of this span. PFF graded the Tom Teleseco-era UDFA well in 2022, slotting him 31st, but has viewed him as a below-average option since. Davis has played on the outside for most of his career, seeing only a fraction of his work in the slot.
The Saints played their Week 5 game without starter Isaac Yiadom. The two-time Saint is not on IR, but Davis will provide some depth and bring scheme familiarity. New Orleans also waived Velus Jones to clear a roster spot, ESPN.com’s Katherine Terrell tweets. A former Bears third-round draftee, Jones has primarily worked as a return man as a pro. Being tried at receiver and running back, Jones has been unable to stick around. Jones played in all five Saints games this season, working as the team’s primary kick returner.
While a Lions landing would have been more relevant in the grand scheme, game checks on the veteran minimum obviously dwarf P-squad salaries. Davis would have been insurance in Detroit as well, and the NFC North powerhouse could use help. The Lions are down D.J. Reed, Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw, with Reed and Rakestraw on IR, ahead of their Sunday-night clash with the Chiefs. Detroit still has Amik Robertson, Avonte Maddox and corner/safety Rock Ya-Sin on its active roster. Tre Flowers is one of three CBs on the Lions’ P-squad. It will be interesting to see if the Lions make another move at corner given their injury situation.
The Saints managed their first win of the season on Sunday. That milestone for the likes of quarterback Spencer Rattler (who was winless heading into today) and first-year head coach Kellen Moore should not be expected to alter New Orleans’ approach to the trade deadline. 
Now sitting at 1-4 on the year, the team is not in a strong position to compete for the playoffs. As such, it would come as little surprise if the Saints adopted a sellers’ stance on the trade front over the coming weeks. Indeed, Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports reports New Orleans is among the teams expected to move on from one or more veterans before the deadline.
Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football confirms the Saints have players which have drawn interest around the league. He adds the team is expected to listen to offers once suitors make inquiries. Given the overhaul witnessed on the sidelines and at a number of positions this offseason, expectations were low entering the campaign in the Saints’ case. A slow start to the season will no doubt influence general manager Mickey Loomis’ willingness to swing one or more trades in the near future.
Running back Alvin Kamara is understandably considered a name to watch closely in that regard. The five-time Pro Bowler has spent his entire career – which is now in its ninth season – with the Saints, but he would provide an acquiring team with a notable addition in the backfield. Kamara, 30, is under contract through 2026. $3MM of his scheduled salary for next season ($11.5MM) is guaranteed, so he would likely not be considered a rental for the stretch run of the current campaign.
Kamara’s base pay for 2025 includes only $2.99MM in salary, a prorated portion of which would be paid out by any team which swung a deal for him. The Saints would take on dead money charges with a trade, though, and Underhill predicts Kamara will not be dealt. There is not a no-trade clause included in this case, which means the possibility of a swap could nevertheless remain a talking point until the deadline.
Wideout Chris Olave has been mentioned as a player the Saints could move on from due to his injury history, but it would still come as a surprise if the team contemplated such a trade after picking up his fifth-year option this spring. In any case, New Orleans will be a team to watch, especially if attention shifts toward next season by the time the deadline is reached.
The Saints were heavily connected to quarterback Jaxson Dart in the run-up to this year’s draft, as the club hosted the Ole Miss product on a “30” visit and did extensive work on him. But New Orleans, which held the No. 9 overall pick, did not consider any quarterback in this year’s class outside of Cam Ward worthy of that selection, and the groundwork the team laid for a potential trade-up into the latter stages of the first round or the early portion of the second round did not produce a deal.
Instead, the Giants selected Dart with the No. 25 overall pick, which they obtained by trading back into the first round after using their No. 3 overall selection on EDGE Abdul Carter. New York head coach Brian Daboll grew fonder of Dart as the draft process went on, and Dart put together a promising training camp and preseason slate. Making his regular season debut in Week 4, he flashed in helping the Giants secure an upset win over the Chargers, Big Blue’s first victory of the campaign.
The Saints ultimately used their No. 40 choice on Louisville passer Tyler Shough, who recently turned 26 but who saw his draft stock rise in the late winter and early spring despite his age. However, New Orleans elected to open the season with 2024 fifth-rounder Spencer Rattler as its QB1, and while Rattler’s surface-level statistics are not terrible, the team has struggled to an 0-4 record.
In making his second career start in Week 5, Dart will have a chance to show the Saints what they missed, as New Orleans will host Dart’s Giants. He appears to be looking forward to that opportunity.
Given the pre-draft work the Saints did on Dart, the signal-caller believed he had a good chance to hear his name called when New Orleans was on the clock with the No. 9 selection (via Dan Duggan of The Athletic). Dart acknowledged that being passed over put a chip on his shoulder.
Of course, it is much too soon to tell what will become of Dart’s and Shough’s careers. It could be that the Saints’ new coaching staff is simply allowing its rookie passer – who has just two pass attempts thus far, both of which came towards the tail end of a blowout loss in Week 3 – to slowly acclimate to the professional level in an obvious transitional year, while Daboll’s shaky job security may have been at least partially responsible for his decision to insert Dart into the starting lineup.
Even so, a strong Dart performance and a Giants win will not do much to assuage any angst in New Orleans.
Saints quarterback/tight end Taysom Hill and tight end Foster Moreau will make their 2025 debuts against the Giants on Sunday. The team announced that it has activated Hill and Moreau from the reserve/PUP list.
In corresponding moves, the Saints placed wide receiver Trey Palmer on injured reserve, waived tight end Moliki Matavao, and called up linebacker Eku Leota from the practice squad as a standard gameday elevation.
Hill suffered a season-ending ACL tear last December, limiting him to a career-low eight games in 2024 and shelving him for the first four contests this season. The ninth-year man returned to practice this week alongside Moreau, who’s also coming back from a late-2024 knee injury. Moreau hauled in 32 passes for 413 yards and five touchdowns in 17 games last year. In addition to the torn ACL, Hill informed Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.Football he tore all four ligaments in the posterolateral corner of his knee.
Without Hill and Moreau around, tight end Juwan Johnson has gotten almost 94 percent of offensive snaps early in the season. He leads the 0-4 Saints in receiving yards (204) and trails only No. 1 WR Chris Olave in catches (22).
In 2023, his most recent healthy season, Hill recorded personal bests in receptions (33), targets (40) and yards (291) over 16 games. Hill was featured more prominently in the running game, as he piled up 81 carries for 401 yards and four touchdowns. He was on an even better pace as a runner in 2024 (39 attempts, 278 yards, six TDs) before his season ended prematurely.
Known for his versatility, Hill is expected to function as the Saints’ backup quarterback behind Spencer Rattler on Sunday, Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com reports. That will relegate rookie Tyler Shough, a second-round pick, to the No. 3 role. The 35-year-old Hill has completed 193 of 302 passes for 2,369 yards, 11 touchdowns, and nine interceptions in the NFL.
Meanwhile, guard Cesar Ruiz – one of Rattler’s key protectors – has avoided the IR and is recovering well from the high ankle sprain he suffered in last week’s loss to the Bills, according to Triplett’s colleague Nick Underhill. Ruiz won’t play on Sunday, but it appears he’ll miss fewer than four games.
Today’s practice squad moves:
Indianapolis Colts
Los Angeles Chargers
New Orleans Saints
New York Jets
Philadelphia Eagles
Tennessee Titans
The Chargers added a familiar face in Sam Mustipher today. A former UDFA, the offensive lineman started 40 of his 43 appearances with the Bears to begin his career, playing the majority of his snaps at center. He got into nine games with the Ravens in 2023 before appearing in 12 contests with the Chargers in 2024. Mustipher also has the ability to play guard, although the Chargers are especially needy at OT with Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater sidelined.
Dante Pettis will also be reuniting with a recent team, as the wideout spent the 2024 season in New Orleans. The former second-round pick has failed to live up to his draft billing, with the majority of his career production coming during a rookie campaign where he collected 27 receptions for 467 yards and five touchdowns. He’s bounced around the league a bit since his 49ers tenure came to an end. After not getting into a game in 2023, he resurfaced with the Saints in 2024, where he added 12 more catches to his resume. He was among the team’s final preseason cuts in 2025.
A former fifth-round running back, Avery Williams has made a name for himself as a returner. He spent four years in Atlanta, returning 54 kickoffs for 1211 yards (22.4-yard average). He missed the 2023 campaign with a torn ACL. The Jets returners have struggled in 2025, with both Xavier Gipson and Isaiah Williams fumbling on special teams.
After losing wide receiver Tyreek Hill to a season-ending knee injury during Monday’s win over the Jets, the Dolphins are bringing back an old friend to help the void. Miami will sign receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. off the Saints’ practice squad, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.
This will be the second Dolphins stint for Wilson, who played with the team under head coach Mike McDaniel from 2022-23. Wilson combined for 34 catches, 432 yards, and three touchdowns over 30 games during his previous run in Miami after spending the first three seasons of his career in Dallas.
Wilson joined the Saints on a two-year, $5.75MM deal with $2.85MM in guarantees in 2024; he hauled in 20 passes for 211 yards and a score in 15 games last season. He didn’t make the Saints’ season-opening roster this year, though, instead spending time on their practice squad to open the season.
The 29-year-old will now receive an opportunity to return to game action with a Miami. With Hill down, Jaylen Waddle will be the team’s unquestioned No. 1 receiver. Proven options are hard to find after that, however, with Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, D’Wayne Eskridge, Malik Washington, and Tahj Washington perhaps taking on expanded roles.
Even with Wilson not delivering on the three-year, $22.05MM Dolphins deal he signed in 2022, the career-long auxiliary receiver has a greater track record than each of those four at the NFL level. Wilson, whose 602-yard Cowboys showing in 2021 caught the Dolphins’ attention, did not eclipse 300 receiving yards in either of his previous two Miami slates.
Realistically, there’s little chance of the Dolphins adequately replacing Hill from within this year. The eight-time Pro Bowler may never suit up again for the Dolphins, who will be able to get out of his non-guaranteed $29.9MM base salary in the offseason. He was already facing an uncertain future before suffering his gruesome injury, which McDaniel confirmed on Tuesday will end his season (X links via Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN and Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network).
It seems Hill avoided nerve damage, but McDaniel revealed “several ligaments including the ACL are part of the dislocation.” A report Tuesday morning indicated Hill’s 2026 season is in doubt, with the future Hall of Famer suffering an ACL tear in addition to the knee dislocation and other ligament tears. This thrusts the all-time speed merchant toward a career crossroads, with an age-32 season coming in 2026. The accomplished wideout had only missed extensive time in one season — the Chiefs’ 2019 campaign — but that will change beginning in Week 5.
Although the Saints are 0-4 and in a transition phase this season, they still roster a host of starters beyond their rookie contracts. Six such vets are on the offensive side of the ball, including eight-figure-per-year cogs Erik McCoy, Juwan Johnson and Cesar Ruiz. The sixth-year guard will be shuttled out of New Orleans’ lineup for the foreseeable future.
Ruiz sustained a high ankle sprain against the Bills in Week 4, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, who indicates a four- to six-week timetable may be the return range here. This would stand to make Ruiz an IR candidate. Scans will determine Ruiz’s timetable, per Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.football, who initially reported the former first-round pick would be expected to miss game action.
The Saints have used Ruiz as a starter throughout his career; he is currently part of a line that features four first-round picks and McCoy (a 2019 second-rounder) as starters. Ruiz, McCoy and Alvin Kamara are the only starters remaining from the Saints’ most recent playoff team — the 2020 edition — and the right guard is signed to a four-year, $44MM extension. That deal runs through the 2027 season.
Despite being in Year 6, Ruiz is still just 26. He has made 73 career starts, though he did miss eight games from 2022-24. Knee and ankle trouble limited Ruiz to 13 games last season, and he missed three contests in 2022. That said, Ruiz has never played fewer than 13 games in a season, managing to avoid serious injuries.
With the Saints not a playoff contender, it should be expected they will be cautious with a player who likely factors into their post-2025 plans. Ruiz has started slowly this season, with Pro Football Focus ranking him 73rd among guards. Because of a recent restructure on Ruiz’s contract, cutting him in 2026 would bring a $16.85MM dead money bill.
The Saints used both their allotted summer IR-return slots, dropping their activation count from eight to six. Ruiz would stand to reduce that number to five if he goes on IR, as this is not a season-ending injury. The Saints also have backup Dillon Radunz battling a turf toe malady. A former Titans guard signed this offseason, Radunz started at left guard in place of Trevor Penning in the season’s first two games. Penning is now back in the lineup. Rookie UDFA Torricelli Simpkins replace Ruiz after he was carted off the field during the Saints’ loss to the Bills.