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Shane Lemieux

Saints Release Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Isaiah Foskey, Move Down To 53

August 26th, 2025 at 3:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints have moved down to 53 players ahead of the 3pm CT deadline. Moving multiple players to the IR-return list, New Orleans also cut 19 players in addition to today’s Jake Haener move. Here is how the Saints trimmed their roster to 53:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Placed on IR (designated for return):

Placed on IR:

Moved to reserve/PUP list:

Ridgeway and Wesley will count toward the Saints’ in-season injury-activation total, leaving six regular-season activations for the team to use. Kellen Moore confirmed those two received return designations while Young will head to season-ending IR due to ankle surgery, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo tweets. Ridgeway, acquired via trade last year, will miss time due to a pectoral injury. It is not viewed as serious, Garafolo adds, noting the D-lineman should be back early in the season. Ridgeway and Wesley, a 2023 UDFA who has not seen any game action yet, must miss at least four games.

The same holds true for Hill and Moreau, who will be shifted from the active/PUP list to the reserve/PUP list. Hill suffered an ACL tear in Week 13 last season, while Moreau went down with a knee malady in Week 18.

Foskey could not hold onto a regular role under Moore, who will drop the 2023 second-round pick after his third NFL training camp. The Saints have used Foskey in 27 games, giving him no starts. In that time, the edge rusher has not recorded a sack. If Foskey goes unclaimed, the Saints will be hit with $3.16MM in dead money — spread over two years.

Edwards-Helaire follows Cam Akers off New Orleans’ roster. Both are vested veterans and do not need to clear waivers before joining another team’s active roster or practice squad. Teams cannot begin setting P-squads until waivers process at 11am CT Wednesday, but clubs are informing players they want to retain on their taxi squads already. Beanum is among the players the Saints want to retain on their P-squad, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets.

Saints’ OL Depth Hurting

August 23rd, 2025 at 4:53pm CST by Ely Allen

After a year in which two offensive line positions were essentially revolving doors for starters, the Saints entered their offseason program with a strong plan. Unfortunately, their emergency plan may have required an emergency plan of its own as New Orleans has watched injuries ravage their offensive line depth.

The Saints have a preliminary starting five that sees Erik McCoy and Cesar Ruiz return to their roles last year at center and right guard, respectively. Trevor Penning, last year’s starting right tackle, has bumped in to the left guard spot, allowing last year’s left tackle, Taliese Fuaga, to return to the position he played in college after starting his rookie year at left tackle. Finally, filling the vacated left tackle spot will likely be rookie first-round pick Kelvin Banks Jr.

However, as mentioned above, the Saints have been bitten before, so they made sure to stock up on depth for their offensive line. Those pieces included free agent addition Dillon Radunz, centers Will Clapp and Shane Lemieux, guard Nick Saldiveri, tackle Landon Young, and a few others. Despite the team’s efforts, a number of those players have already gotten injured in the preseason, leaving New Orleans extremely thin along their offensive line with just over two weeks until their regular season opener.

Clapp and Saldiveri are already done for the season, and Radunz has stepped in for Penning as he deals with turf toe, per Matthew Paras of The Times-Picayune. To make matters worse, Young was carted off the field during Saturday’s preseason game with an ankle injury, according to ESPN’s Katherine Terrell. Lemieux appeared to be making a push for the Saints’ backup center job until he, too, left Saturday’s game with an ankle injury (via Paras). That could give bolster the roster chances of depth interior linemen Torricelli Simpkins and Luke Fortner, the latter of whom was acquired in a trade last week.

New Orleans’ OL woes could have them scouring the waiver wire over the coming days to shore up their depth in the trenches. A quicker recovery from Penning would also allow Radunz to serve as a versatile backup after playing every position except center in Tennessee.

Nikhil Mehta contributed to this post.

Saints OL Trevor Penning Battling Turf Toe

August 13th, 2025 at 11:16am CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Saints dealt with a boatload of offensive line injuries in 2024, and they have continued into this year.

The team has already lost Nick Saldiveri and Will Clapp to season-ending injuries, and now, Trevor Penning is dealing with turf toe, according to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football.

Turf toe can cause lingering problems, and Penning has experience seeing a summer foot injury persist. Such an injury typically takes four to six weeks to heal, per Underhill, threatening Penning’s status for the Saints’ regular season opening on September 7.

After converting from tackle to guard hit offseason, Penning has been competing for the team’s starting LG job. Saldiveri’s injury gave Penning a commanding lead until he went down against the Chargers on Sunday. Penning has been available over the past two years, going as far as to start 17 games at right tackle in 2024. As a rookie, however, Penning suffered a torn foot ligament. Ironically, that injury was viewed as a bad case of turf toe at the time. Penning did not debut until Week 12 and only made one rookie-year start, altering his development during what became a failed Saints mission to have him replace Terron Armstead at left tackle.

The Saints have a few options to replace Penning. Dillon Radunz is listed as the backup left guard, but he took snaps at both tackle spots in the team’s preseason opener. Instead, it was Shane Lemieux and Kyle Hergel who filled the rest of the left guard snaps after Penning left the game. Given that Lemieux started four games for the Saints in 2024, he could be a trusted early-season option to fill in at left guard until Penning comes back.

New Orleans’ next two preseason games will be strong indicators towards their plans at left guard. If Radunz starts the game there, he will likely be the Week 1 starter if Penning isn’t available. If it’s Lemieux with Radunz still at tackle, the Saints may be planning to go with him in the short term and continue training Radunz as a swing tackle.

Penning, meanwhile, is entering a contract year after failing to live up to his first-round draft billing in his first three seasons. The Saints tried him at left and right tackle, but his tendency to lunge at defenders left the Division I-FCS product exposed against faster edge rushers. The team believes that his game better translates to the interior where his grip strength and power can really shine.

Saints To Re-Sign G Shane Lemieux

August 2nd, 2025 at 12:25pm CST by Adam La Rose

August 2: Lemieux’s signing came on the heels of a knee injury to Nick Saldiveri, who is going on season-ending injured reserve, per ESPN’s Katherine Terell.

Saldiveri started six games at left guard last season and was competing for the starting job in 2025 with Penning. Though the Saints relied on him more than expected last year, Lemieux is unlikely to be a Week 1 starter and will likely served as a multi-positional backup along the interior of the offensive line.

August 1: Shane Lemieux spent the 2024 campaign in New Orleans, and he will look to do the same this season. The sixth-year guard as a deal in place with the Saints, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.

[RELATED: Reviewing Saints’ Offseason]

Lemieux began his career with the Giants and played out his rookie contract from 2020-23. Over that span, the former fifth-rounder was marred by injuries; after logging nine starts as a rookie, Lemieux made a total of only six appearances for New York during his final three years with the team. That obviously hurt his value as a free agent.

Originally joining the Saints on the practice squad, Lemieux wound up being elevated to the active roster in October. That allowed him to make a total of seven appearances and four starts for New Orleans as the team battled a slew of injuries throughout its offense. The campaign nevertheless included another stint on injured reserve for the 28-year-old, so it comes as little surprise he remained on the open market into August.

Lemieux took part in the Saints’ minicamp in June as part of an effort to secure a second contract with the team. That has proven effective, albeit along a belated timeline. The Saints entered Friday with over $20MM in cap space, so this pact – which will no doubt check in at the veteran minimum – will not have an impact on any further moves which take place between now and the start of the regular season.

New Orleans is set to use Taliese Fuaga at right tackle in 2025 with first-round rookie Kelvin Banks Jr. a candidate to handle blindside duties. Regardless of how that plays out, Trevor Penning (who has not met expectations at either tackle spot) will move inside to guard this season. Penning is slated to operate as New Orleans’ top option at left guard, but Lemieux will look to compete for time on the right or, more likely, a backup role through the remainder of training camp.

Cam Akers, Shane Lemieux Participating At Saints’ Minicamp

June 11th, 2025 at 1:13pm CST by Sam Robinson

The rare player to be traded to the same team twice, Cam Akers has not re-signed with the Vikings. The veteran running back, who has returned from two Achilles tears, remains a free agent. But he has secured an extended audition.

Teams can bring free agents to minicamp, and NewOrleans.football’s Nick Underhill notes the Saints are observing Akers at theirs this week. The former Rams second-round pick spent time with the Texans and Vikings last year. Shane Lemieux joins him at Kellen Moore‘s first Saints minicamp, per NewOrleans.football’s Mike Triplett. Lemieux played for the Saints in 2024.

Not only has Akers gone to Minnesota twice via trade, he has done so in-season in consecutive years. The Rams ended a decaying partnership by sending Akers to the Vikings, where he reunited with ex-Los Angeles OC Kevin O’Connell, in September 2023. As the Vikings were aiming to upgrade on Ty Chandler behind Aaron Jones, they landed Akers from the Texans in a mid-October pick swap. Akers, 26 this month, has not been closely connected to a team since his one-year, $1.18MM Houston-designed deal expired.

Despite suffering an Achilles tear during his first Vikings season, Akers impressed in the building and returned to play 17 games between his Houston and Minnesota stays in 2024. He gained 444 rushing yards (4.3 per carry), filling in for Joe Mixon as a Texans starter and becoming Jones’ top backup following the trade. Akers also overcame a 2021 Achilles tear, returning in Week 18 of the Rams’ 2021 Super Bowl-winning season despite going down in late July. Akers was ineffective upon return, however, and he later fell out of favor in L.A.

The Saints have Kendre Miller still positioned as Alvin Kamara‘s top backup, though the team did keep Clyde Edwards-Helaire on a futures deal before drafting Devin Neal in Round 6. Akers is nevertheless auditioning, as the Saints have been unable to find a reliable Kamara backup for a while. They released Jamaal Williams after an unproductive two-year stay and have not seen Miller stay healthy during that span.

Lemieux battled back from extensive injury trouble in New York, but injuries have crushed his earning power. Formerly a Giants starter as a rookie in 2020, Lemieux missed 32 games over the next two seasons. He then played only four games in 2023, leading to only a practice squad accord with the Saints. New Orleans brought him up from the P-squad in October and later used him as a four-game starter, but another IR stint did commence. Lemieux, 28, will attempt to impress the Saints’ new staff this week.

Saints Place Chris Olave On IR, Activate Shane Lemieux, Will Harris

November 9th, 2024 at 6:40pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Saints have officially placed Chris Olave on injured reserve. The third-year wideout will miss at least the first four games as a result, although his availability for the remainder of the season is in question.

Olave is dealing with his second concussion of the season, which also represents his fourth in less than three full campaigns in the NFL. The 24-year-old’s visits with specialists will determine his next steps, but for at least the immediate future he will be unavailable to the 2-7 Saints as they begin life with Darren Rizzi as head coach. New Orleans has already lost fellow WR starter Rashid Shaheed for the season.

Olave is under contract through 2025 as things stand, but his fifth-year option for the following season could be exercised this spring. A decision on that front – or any approach with respect to a long-term extension, of course – will be dictated in large part by the Ohio State product’s prognosis. Given how far the Saints are from postseason contention along with the long-term approach being taken by team and player, attention will increasingly turn toward Olave’s Week 1 availability in 2025.

New Orleans will have a pair of returnees in the lineup for Week 10, however. The team also announced on Saturday that offensive lineman Shane Lemieux has been activated from IR. The 27-year-old took over as the first-team option at center once Erik McCoy was injured; McCoy has been ruled out for tomorrow’s contest, so Lemieux could reprise that role now that he is healthy. If not, he will be an option in the middle but also at guard as the Saints look to establish a consistent lineup along the O-line to close out the year.

Safety Will Harris has also been activated from IR. A hamstring injury led him to injured reserve roughly one month ago, interrupting his debut campaign in New Orleans. Harris started each of his five appearances prior to going down, serving in a first-team role after he did so during parts of his five-year Lions tenure. Harris, 28, will look to aid a defense which ranks 27th against the pass this season.

These moves will leave the Saints with five IR activations on the year. Bringing Olave back into the fold at some point would lower that figure, but it appears signficant progress will need to be made in his recovery for that to become a consideration.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/30/24

October 30th, 2024 at 7:26pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/7/24

October 7th, 2024 at 8:33pm CST by Adam La Rose

Here are the minor moves made around the NFL on Monday:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Received one-game roster exemption: WR Zay Jones

Atlanta Falcons

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

  • Received one-game roster exemption: DT Mike Hall

Green Bay Packers

Philadelphia Eagles

New Orleans Saints

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Both Jones and Hall were issued suspensions under the personal conduct policy leaving them sidelined for the first five weeks of the season. Their roster exemptions will allow them to make their debuts in Week 6, but after that point a corresponding move will be needed for them to be permanently activated to their respective 53-man rosters.

Lemieux served as New Orleans’ starting center in Week 4 after being promoted from the practice squad. He stepped into a first-team role in place of Erik McCoy, who is dealing with a groin injury. Losing Lemieux for at least the next four games will deal another blow to the Saints’ O-line. Connor McGovern was added to the mix recently, but Lucas Patrick has received the nod at center to begin the team’s Week 5 matchup.

Saints Work Out Brian Allen, Add Chris Reed; Team Signs Shane Lemieux From Practice Squad

September 25th, 2024 at 4:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

Following a 2-0 start featuring a suddenly explosive offense and their veteran-laden defense performing well, the Saints lost in Week 3 and came out of it worse for wear. Plenty of questions now face New Orleans, which was missing several key contributors at practice Wednesday.

Among them, the last two members of the team’s Drew Brees offensive lines. Erik McCoy is heading to IR, and right guard Cesar Ruiz is battling both knee and ankle injuries. Coming into the season with issues up front, New Orleans now has injury hurdles to negotiate early. As a result, reinforcements are coming.

One of them will move up from the practice squad, with another coming from outside the organization. Shane Lemieux is being signed to the 53-man roster from the practice squad, per ESPN.com’s Katherine Terrell, while NewOrleans.football’s Nick Underhill indicates Chris Reed is joining team’s P-squad.

While Reed comes to New Orleans from Minnesota, his Vikings tenure did not overlap with new OC Klint Kubiak‘s. Reed spent the previous two seasons in Minnesota, after Kubiak had moved on, and worked as a Vikings backup. Reed, who worked as a Panthers regular starter in 2020 and a Colts fill-in starter in 2021, will mix in at a reeling position group.

Oli Udoh, who started 16 games at guard for the Vikings during Kubiak’s 2021 season as OC, moved into the lineup once McCoy went down against the Eagles. Udoh kicked Lucas Patrick from left guard to center, and the Saints figure to lean on the versatile blocker’s experience there for the foreseeable future. The Saints have a younger option as well in Nick Saldiveri, a 2023 fourth-round pick. The Old Dominion alum began training camp working as the first-string left guard. Patrick eventually won the job, but both Udoh and Saldiveri could be summoned if Ruiz cannot go in Week 4.

Lemieux, who became a Giants starter as a rookie, battled constant injury trouble during his final three seasons in New York. A severe foot injury sidelined the former fifth-round pick for almost all of the 2021 and ’22 seasons. Lemieux returned in 2022 but played in only one game. A biceps injury in practice last October ended Lemieux’s contract year on a familiar note. This represents another shot for a player who has played in just six games over the past three seasons.

Reed joined Brian Allen and others, ex-Colts backup Josh Sills among them, at Wednesday’s workout. Formerly the Rams’ starting center in Super Bowl LVI who worked as the team’s starter for three seasons during an injury-plagued run in Los Angeles, Allen lost his job to Coleman Shelton last season and became an offseason cap casualty. Previously given a three-year, $18MM Rams deal, Allen could not make the Browns’ 53-man roster in August.

Saints Place RB Kendre Miller On IR, Reduce Squad To 53

August 27th, 2024 at 9:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here is how the Saints moved their roster down to the regular-season 53-man limit:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Placed on IR/return designation:

Placed on reserve/PUP list:

A host of vested vets are off the Saints’ roster, and Miller will be for a stretch as well. Miller has been down with a hamstring injury for several weeks, suffering the setback minutes into the team’s initial training camp workout. This lingering into the regular season is a concerning development for both parties. Hamstring trouble limited Miller late last summer as well. The Saints still roster Jamaal Williams behind Alvin Kamara, but they used a third-round pick on Miller last year. The TCU alum logged 41 carries as a rookie, but a new OC (Klint Kubiak) is now calling the shots.

Kpassagnon sustained an Achilles tear early this offseason, and he will miss at least four games. Rookie UDFA Mason Tipton made the roster over St. Brown, while offseason pickup Will Harris secured a spot over Abram. The Saints kept Lucas Patrick and Oli Udoh over Davis and Lemieux, who had been attempting to bounce back from an injury-plagued Giants tenure.

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