Saints’ COVID Surge
Yesterday, the Saints saw 9 players hit the reserve/COVID-19 list including quarterbacks Taysom Hill and Trevor Siemian who were expected to handle the duties behind center for the rest of the year with Jameis Winston on IR with a torn ACL. In addition to those two, guard James Carpenter, linebacker Kaden Elliss, defensive back Jeff Heath, defensive end Jalyn Holmes, defensive back Malcolm Jenkins, defensive tackle Christian Ringo, and tackle Jordan Mills all found themselves on the COVID list. Besides the quarterbacks and full-time starter Jenkins, the other six players have a combined 8 starts between them.
With three quarterbacks currently unavailable for Monday Night’s matchup with the Dolphins, the Saints are expected to start the rookie fourth-round pick out of Notre Dame, Ian Book. As we reported earlier this morning, New Orleans also made the move of signing Blake Bortles as a contingency plan behind Book.
Well, despite the addition, the Saints didn’t fair any better today, losing full-time starters Ryan Ramczyk at tackle and Demario Davis at linebacker to the reserve/COVID-19 list, as well as reserves running back Dwayne Washington and safety J.T. Gray.
With the losses, the Saints will continue to operate with a depleted roster, like every other NFL team this year. The Saints’ lineup now lacks the likes of regular starters like Winston, Hill, Jenkins, Ramczyk, Davis, kicker Wil Lutz, tackle Andrus Peat, tight end Adam Trautman, and wide receiver Michael Thomas. Although they look like a shell of the team they could be at full strength, the Saints, along with the rest of the NFL, will continue to work to make the most of a bad situation as they currently sit only two spots outside of the final Wild Card spot with a 7-7 record, losing the tiebreakers to current 7-seed Minnesota and 8-seed Philadelphia.
NFL COVID List Updates: 12/24/21
We’ve compiled a list of players who were placed on or activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list today. In some instances, players activated from the list remain on IR:
Baltimore Ravens
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: S Chuck Clark, C Trystan Colon
- Activated from practice squad/COVID-19 list: RB Nate McCrary
- Placed on practice squad/COVID-19 list: QB Chris Streveler
Buffalo Bills
- Activated from practice squad/COVID-19 list: T Bobby Hart
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Gabriel Davis, G Cody Ford
Chicago Bears
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DT Bilal Nichols
Cincinnati Bengals
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Mike Thomas
Cleveland Browns
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: CB A.J. Green, QB Case Keenum, WR Jarvis Landry, QB Baker Mayfield, DE Ifeadi Odenigbo
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: K Chase McLaughlin, DT Jordan Elliott
- Placed on practice squad/COVID-19 list: S Tedric Thompson
Dallas Cowboys
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Jourdan Lewis, WR Simi Fehoko
Denver Broncos
- Placed on practice squad/COVID-19 list: LB Barrington Wade
Green Bay Packers
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: DL Kenny Clark
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Chauncey Rivers
Indianapolis Colts
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: G Quenton Nelson
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DE Josh Allen, WR Laviska Shenault, OL Ben Bartch
Kansas City Chiefs
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: TE Blake Bell
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19: P Tommy Townsend
Los Angeles Chargers
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DT Justin Jones
Los Angeles Rams
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: DB Jordan Fuller, TE Tyler Higbee
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: OL Cole Williamson
Miami Dolphins
- Activated from practice squad/COVID-19 list: RB Gerrid Doaks
New England Patriots
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: RB Rhamondre Stevenson
New Orleans Saints
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Demario Davis, DB J.T. Gray, T Ryan Ramczyk, RB Dwayne Washington
New York Giants
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: S J.R. Reed, OLB Oshane Ximines
- Activated from practice squad/COVID-19 list: C Jonotthan Harrison
New York Jets
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Jeff Smith, CB Justin Hardee
- Placed from reserve/COVID-19 list: TE Ryan Griffin
Philadelphia Eagles
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: OL Landon Dickerson
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: DT Montravius Adams
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DE Isaiah Buggs
Seattle Seahawks
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: RB Travis Homer
- Activated from practice squad/COVID-19 list: OL Pier-Olivier Lestage
Tennessee Titans
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Dez Fitzpatrick
- Activated from practice squad/COVID-19 list: DB Jamal Carter
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: T Taylor Lewan
Washington Football Team
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: QB Kyle Allen, S Kamren Curl, LB Milo Eifler, CB Kendall Fuller
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DE Nate Orchard
Saints Gain $4.3MM+ In Cap Room
The Saints now have $4.34MM in extra cap room to work with, thanks to David Onyemata. The defensive tackle has agreed to convert a portion of his $7MM base into a signing bonus, kicking a portion of his hit into 2022 and granting the Saints some flexibility in the near term. 
Onyemata cracked the Saints’ starting lineup in 2019 and re-upped with the Saints last year on a three-year, $27MM deal. The move garnered mixed reviews since Onyemata wasn’t a tremendous performer in his platform year, per the advanced metrics. Then, he silenced the critics with 44 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 16 quarterback hits, and one interception. Pro Football Focus graded him as the seventh-best interior defender in the NFL, behind only Aaron Donald, Chris Jones, Mario Edwards Jr., Vita Vea, DeForest Buckner, and Cameron Heyward.
Meanwhile, the Saints have also re-signed defensive back J.T. Gray, Rapoport hears. The special teams specialist will stick around on a two-year, $4MM deal that includes $2MM in guarantees.
Saints Sign Six Players To Futures Deals
The Saints’ season is officially in the books, which means that it’s on to the offseason for New Orleans. To kick things off, the Saints signed the following six practice squad players to reserve/futures deals:
- QB J.T Barrett
- DB Chris Campbell
- DB J.T. Gray
- DT Tomasi Laulile
- LB Darnell Sankey
- OT Nate Wozniak
Barrett has been jockeyed on and off of the Saints’ practice squad all year. Over the weekend, Barrett was signed to the Saints’ taxi squad for the 13th time this season. In total, he was involved in a whopping 25 transactions during the 2018 campaign and was released 12 times. Barrett frequently switched placed with wide receiver Paul Turner, but there’s no word yet on whether Turner will be retained via a futures contract.
Sankey, 25 in October, appeared in six games for the Colts last season. This year, he did not see live action for the Saints, but he was on the scout team for most of the year.
Wozniak, a tight end at the University of Minnesota, was signed as a UDFA last year. The Saints moved the 6’10” prospect over to offensive tackle and they’re hoping he’ll be able to use his size and length to his advantage.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/15/18
Today’s practice squad updates:
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: DL Aziz Shittu
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: CB Dee Delaney
- Released: LB Richard Jarvis
New York Giants
- Signed: S Kenny Ladler
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: S J.T. Gray
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: DT Cameron Malveaux
Washington Redskins
- Signed: C Casey Dunn
- Released: RB Mack Brown
