Locks For The 53 And Who's Competing For The Remaining Spots In 2024 (1 Viewer)

[Artifactual]

There are a number of players we probably can all agree on that will be locks to make the Saints final 53-man roster, baring trades, injuries or retirement, which at this point are unforeseen and useless to speculate on, with the exception being that of Ryan Ramczyk. The uncertainty at the backup QB position as of now has me thinking that the Saints might carry more QBs on the 53-man roster than in years past with one of them being designated as the EQB3 which effectively, is a free gameday roster spot. That would include Carr and Hill with either Haener and/or Rattler being the 3rd and/or 4th. If both Haener and Rattler show promise in camp the Saints may be forced to keep both on the 53-man roster and not expose either to the waiver wire on cutdown day trying to place one or the other on the practice squad. If one of them shows less and struggles in preseason the Saints may take that risk. Once players clear the final cutdown and clear waivers they can be resigned to the practice squad and the team can protect up to 4 players each week from being poached from their practice squad. I think the Saints will go the latter route, so they don't have to commit 4 roster spots on the 53-man roster to QBs. The question is which Quarterback will they risk losing by cutting and placing him on waivers prior to resigning him to the practice squad?

With all of that being said, let's take a look at the locks for roster spots as of today, how the roster may be shaped, and who is competing for the remaining spots.


Offense (25) - Locks - 14

Quarterback (3) - Locks - (2) Carr, Hill
Running Back (4) - Locks - (3) Kamara, Miller, Williams
Full Back (1) - Locks - (0) - Open Competition
Tight End (3) - Locks - (2) Moreau, Johnson
Wide Receiver (5) - Locks - (3) Olave, Shaheed, Perry
Offensive Linemen (9) - Locks - (4) McCoy, Ruiz, Fuaga, Penning,

Offense Open Spots - 11

Quarterback - 1 Open Spot - Jake Haener, Spencer Rattler
Running Back - 1 Open Spot - James Robinson, Jordan Mims, Jacob Kibodi
Fullback - 1 Open Spot - Adam Prentice, Zander Horvath
Tight End - 1 Open Spot - Dallin Holker, Michael Jacobson, Tommy Hudson
Wide Receiver - 2 Open Spots - Cedrick Wilson, Jr., Equanimeous St. Brown, Stanley Morgan, Bub Means, Jermaine Jackson, Kyle Sheets, Mason Tipton
Offensive Linemen - 5 Open Spots - Ryan Ramczyk, Nick Saldiveri, Landon Young, Mark Evans II, Justin Heron, Tommy Kraemer, Shane Lemieux, Noun Nouili, Olisaemeka Udoh, Josiah Ezirim, Sincere Haynesworth



Defense (25) - Locks - 19

Defensive Linemen (10) - Locks - (8) Jordan, Granderson, Young, Bresee, Shepherd, Saunders, Turner, Foskey
Defensive Back (10) - Locks - (8) Lattimore, Adebo, Taylor, McKinstry, Mathieu, Howden, Amadi, Gray
Linebacker (5) - Locks - (3) Davis, Werner, Gay


Defense Open Spots (6)

Defensive Linemen - 2 Open Spots - Tanoh Kpassagnon, Jack Heflin, Khristian Boyd, John Penisini, Nick Lalos, Kyler Baugh, Kyle Hergel, Trajan Jeffcoat, Nate Latu
Defensive Back - 2 Open Spots - Jonathan Abram, Will Harris, Faion Hicks, Shemar Jean-Charles, Millard Bradford, Lawrence Johnson, Rico Payton, Rejzohn Wright
Linebacker - 2 Open Spots - D'Marco Jackson, Anfernee Orji, Nephi Sewell, Monty Rice, Jaylan Ford, Khaleke Hudson, Isaiah Stalbird



Specialists (3) - Locks - 1

Long Snapper (1) - Lock -1 - Wood
Punter (1) - Lock - (0) - Open Competition
Kicker (1) - Lock - (0) - Open Competition


Specialists Open Spots (2)

Punter - 1 Open Spot - Lou Hedley, Matthew Hayball
Kicker - 1 Open Spot - Blake Grupe, Charlie Smyth


At first glance from what I see as of today the Saints have 34 locks to make the 53-man roster baring injuries, trades, or retirement from the current players. That leaves 19 spots open for competition for the final roster. The most glaring holes to fill are on the Offensive Line with Wide Receiver and Linebacker next. The most solid positions on the roster appears to be Defensive End and the Defensive Backs. There's room for improvement at almost every other position whether it's for starters or depth. The possibility remains that the Saints will continue to sign free agents that could impact the shape of the roster and position groups. And of course, the post June1st trade/cut possibility remains along with waiver wire moves after the final cutdown.

I can see a slight change in the roster position allotment by keeping 6 WRs or an extra QB on offense with one less RB or one less Lineman but it just seems like the OLine is the weakest link on the team at this point. On defense I can see an extra Linebacker with one less Lineman. For now, this is how I see the Saints structuring their position allotments to fill out the 53-man roster. Additional free agent signings could significantly alter this as well as trades or injuries. The real elephant in the room is the health status of Ryan Ramczyk and whether he will be healthy enough to play this year, will he start off on injured reserve, or will he retire before the season even begins, which is why he is not considered a lock on my initial list, and he's considered more as a wildcard. Obviously if he were to be healthy, he's a solid lock.

As of May 1st, 2024, the Saints have 86 players signed to the roster with 7 drafted players unsigned as of now. The roster limit is 90. The team will have to cut at least 3 of the current players in order to sign all of the drafted players. As in every year, there will be a good bit of churning the bottom of the 90-man prior to the cut down to 53. And we will see roster moves during the season to the practice squad and the 53-man roster throughout the year.

For now, this is just an exercise in narrowing down the spots on the roster that are open for competition between now and the start of the regular season.

Any thoughts on who will be favorites to win some of these position battles? Do you see any other players as locks or players I listed as locks that shouldn't be considered as such as of now?

 

[oysters]

There are a number of players we probably can all agree on that will be locks to make the Saints final 53-man roster, baring trades, injuries or retirement, which at this point are unforeseen and useless to speculate on, with the exception being that of Ryan Ramczyk. The uncertainty at the backup QB position as of now has me thinking that the Saints might carry more QBs on the 53-man roster than in years past with one of them being designated as the EQB3 which effectively, is a free gameday roster spot. That would include Carr and Hill with either Haener and/or Rattler being the 3rd and/or 4th. If both Haener and Rattler show promise in camp the Saints may be forced to keep both on the 53-man roster and not expose either to the waiver wire on cutdown day trying to place one or the other on the practice squad. If one of them shows less and struggles in preseason the Saints may take that risk. Once players clear the final cutdown and clear waivers they can be resigned to the practice squad and the team can protect up to 4 players each week from being poached from their practice squad. I think the Saints will go the latter route, so they don't have to commit 4 roster spots on the 53-man roster to QBs. The question is which Quarterback will they risk losing by cutting and placing him on waivers prior to resigning him to the practice squad?

Thanks for taking the time to make this thread. I mentioned it in another thread but I’d put money on both Haener and Ratttler making the 53 but only one will be active on game day. Since the ERQB can be pulled up from the PS unlimited times then we will just put Peterman on the PS and he’s the ERQB on game days to help Carr out.

Taysom isn’t a QB so he won’t count.

 

[SonOfNOLA]

There seems to be 2 open spots at QB for Rattler and Haener. DA’s statements about them after the draft indicates both can or will have a roster spot on the 53. Taysom’s apart of the QB room but he isn’t counted at only QB for the preseason roster cutdown.

LB will also likely have 6 players again like last season for depth on ST and at the position. Hudson and Ford have a strong chance to be the 5th and 6th LBs based on their extensive ST snaps and both are legit LBs. Hudson has solid starting LB experience.

 

[oysters]

Ram is gonna be on the PUP then IR. If he plays eve again I’d be amazed. Nick Saldiveri, Landon Young, Mark Evans II, Shane Lemieux, Olisaemeka Udoh, are my guesses with Josiah Ezirim on PS

Linebacker Jaylon Smith has a shot because I think he’ll be good on special teams.

Edit: Jaylon Ford not Smith

 

[bthomas1]

Ram is gonna be on the PUP then IR. If he plays eve again I’d be amazed. Nick Saldiveri, Landon Young, Mark Evans II, Shane Lemieux, Olisaemeka Udoh, are my guesses with Josiah Ezirim on PS

Linebacker Jaylon Smith has a shot because I think he’ll be good on special teams

You Mean Jaylan Ford?

 

[oysters]

You Mean Jaylan Ford?

That’s for me to know and you to find out

 

[Artifactual]

Thanks for taking the time to make this thread.

YW! It took a bit of time and even after completing it I'm torn on the allotments I gave to the QB position and the LB position which if increased would decrease the number of WRs or RBs on Offense and the number of Linemen on Defense. And that may very well be what happens.

I mentioned it in another thread but I’d put money on both Haener and Ratttler making the 53 but only one will be active on game day. Since the ERQB can be pulled up from the PS unlimited times then we will just put Peterman on the PS and he’s the ERQB on game days to help Carr out.

You're correct that the EQB3 can be pulled up from the PS an unlimited number of times now, however, Peterman won't be designated as that guy unless the QB room gets totally decimated with multiple injured players. He may not even be on the practice squad.

The rules state that a team must have 2 "Bona Fide" Quarterbacks on the gameday roster that are on the 53-man active roster in order to designate another QB as the EQB3, whether he is on the 53-man Roster or the Practice Squad. The EQB3 must be a "Bona Fide" QB.

To put that in context, if the Saints have Carr and Hill on the gameday roster they can choose to have a 3rd QB active on the gameday roster from their 53-man roster or one promoted from the Practice Squad without involving the EQB3 rule. In that scenario Haener or Rattler could be a gameday active 3rd QB without limitations. The Saints could also choose to enter the gameday roster with Carr and Hill as the 2 "Bona Fide" QBs and then designate a QB from either the 53-man roster or the practice squad as the EQB3.

What the Saints Can't do is enter a game with Carr, Hill, and a 3rd QB such as Haener or Rattler, active on their gameday roster and then name a 4th QB as the EQB3, whether from the 53-man roster or the Practice Squad.

A team can have as many "Bona Fide" QBs as they choose to have on their gameday roster, but they can't designate a 4th QB as the EQB3.

Taysom isn’t a QB so he won’t count.

Taysom Hill is a QB, and he Will Count as a QB on the gameday roster.
He's listed as a QB on the Saints Official Roster and website as well as the NFL Official website.
He's a QB that also plays many other roles other than QB in various positions for the team each week.

To the dismay of many here Taysom Hill Is a "Bona Fide" QB in the NFL (regardless of whether some deny his 2nd highest all-time winning record % -7/2 - or him having the highest yards per attempt - 7.9 - as a Saint QB). I state that he is a "Bona Fide QB" as a Fact which is based on the actual rules and definitions of the game including the play of Taysom Hill in the past.

Let's put Facts over Thoughts and Feelings here.

The NFL defines a "Bona Fide QB" as follows:

Q: What is the definition of a bona fide quarterback?

A: For the purposes of the Emergency Third Quarterback rule, a bona fide quarterback is defined as a player who wears a jersey number authorized for a quarterback and (a) is an established quarterback (e.g., someone who has customarily played the position in past professional or college seasons); or (b) is a player who takes regular-season snaps only at quarterback during at least three consecutive weeks of practice, including any week the player would be listed as an Emergency Third Quarterback.

So, by definition Taysom Hill is a "Bona Fide" NFL QB. He wears #7, a jersey number authorized by the NFL for a QB. He's an established QB who in the past has customarily played the position both in the NFL and in college over the course of many seasons.

Taysom Hill Career Stats | NFL.com

NFL emergency third-quarterback rule: Questions and answers

Everything you need to know about NFL practice squad rules

Each year, NFL teams assemble a group of players on its practice squad to add more depth to their rosters.

dknetwork.draftkings.com

 

[bobad]

We had a good draft, and I think 3 or 4 of the rooks are locks to get real snaps.

We were really weak at RB and TE last year, so I think Kubiak will shake things up. I also guess he is not so happy with QB, and will push hard to see what Haener and Rattler have for future considerations.

I have a feeling camp will be a real war this year at almost every position.

 

[Artifactual]

There seems to be 2 open spots at QB for Rattler and Haener. DA’s statements about them after the draft indicates both can or will have a roster spot on the 53.

My OP suggested that the Saints could go either way with this based on how they perform in camp and preseason. But yeah, it's possible the Saints carry 4 QBs on the 53-man roster. I covered that possibility in the thread titled " Is The Saints QB Room Set For 2024". Both Haener and Rattler would have to shine in camp and preseason so much so that the Saints wouldn't want to take a chance on cutting one of them hoping that they would clear waivers and could return on the PS.

Taysom’s apart of the QB room but he isn’t counted at only QB for the preseason roster cutdown.

Taysom does count as a QB. I covered that in detail 2 posts above.

 

[DavidM]

My OP suggested that the Saints could go either way with this based on how they perform in camp and preseason. But yeah, it's possible the Saints carry 4 QBs on the 53-man roster. I covered that possibility in the thread titled " Is The Saints QB Room Set For 2024". Both Haener and Rattler would have to shine in camp and preseason so much so that the Saints wouldn't want to take a chance on cutting one of them hoping that they would clear waivers and could return on the PS.



Taysom does count as a QB. I covered that in detail 2 posts above.

I think this might be a disagreement over the technical vs practical. Regardless, the Saints carried three other QBs last year, in addition to Hill, and it’s certainly possible they’d do so again this year.

 

[Artifactual]

I think this might be a disagreement over the technical vs practical.

There's nothing to disagree about whether technical or practical. Facts are facts. Opinions are personal thoughts or views that can be discussed about facts but that doesn't make them facts. They are merely subjective.

Regardless, the Saints carried three other QBs last year, in addition to Hill, and it’s certainly possible they’d do so again this year.

The Saints entered the 2023 season with 4 QBs on their 53-man roster, however Jake Haener did not count against the 53-man roster for the first 6 games as he was placed on the inactive/suspended list prior to the start of the 2023 season. With that said, the Saints went into all but one game with 3 QBs on the gameday roster.

Derek Carr started all 17 games last year. Jameis Winston was the gameday #2 QB in all 17 games last year. Taysom Hill was the #3 QB in 16 games last year, having missed one game due to injury which was in week 14 against Carolina. That is the only game Jake Haener was an active gameday QB.

The Saints did not declare a EQB3 in any of the games in 2023.


The Saints signed Jake Luton to their Practice Squad in 2023. He was on and off of the Saints practice squad in 2023. He was elevated to the Saints 53-man roster for 1 game in which he was a gameday active QB due to the concern of Carr having been knocked out of the game the week before and the uncertainty of his health going into that week. That was the only game in which the Saints carried 4 QBs on the gameday roster.

You are correct that the Saints carried 3 QBs other than Hill on the 53-man roster, but not for the entire season.

Therefore, if the Saints elect to keep both Haener and Rattler on the 53-man roster it will be the 1st time that the Saints will have entered a season with 4 QBs on the 53-man roster.

 

[Boy_of_wonder75]

Re: QB. They will keep 3 and Taysom Hill. They've signed an experienced backup and now have two younger players at the position.

 

[guillermo]

I really hope it's not the case. But I don't think either Penning or Foskey have a lock position on the team.

They may have a little more patience with them, but if there are other players performing better, I don't think they will keep them just because they are early picks.

 

[Artifactual]

Re: QB. They will keep 3 and Taysom Hill.

You were a little later to the party than expected but you arrived without a doubt to put your spin on what involves Taysom Hill.

No matter what your take is on it, the Fact is Taysom Hill is an NFL QB on the Saints roster, whether you can accept it or not.

You are suggesting that the Saints will keep Carr, Haener, Rattler, and Hill. The official count in that scenario would be 4 QBs.

Taysom Hill Career Stats | NFL.com

They've signed an experienced backup and now have two younger players at the position.

By experienced backup one must assume you are speaking of Nathan Peterman, a journeyman QB who entered the league in 2017 and now with his 4th team. His Experience is limited to appearing in a total of 15 games with 5 starts having a 1-4 record as a starter while throwing a total of 4 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He has a career QB Rating of 39.4. That's not the kind of experience anyone can get excited about and would hope not to have to rely on him playing, ever.

You mentioned that the Saints now have two younger players at the QB position on the roster. They actually have 3, Kellen Mond, Jake Haener, and Spencer Rattler.

Mond was a 2021 3rd round draft choice by the Vikings. He's still young at 24 yrs of age. Now on his 4th team he has appeared in 1 game and has thrown a total of 3 passes, completing 2 of them for a total of 5 yards.

Jake Haener was drafted by the Saints in the 4th round in 2023. He is young at 25 years of age. He has been active just once on gameday. He hasn't yet thrown a pass.

Spencer Rattler was just drafted by the Saints in the 5th round of the 2024 draft. He is young at 23 years of age. He hasn't yet thrown a single pass in training camp much less an NFL game.

The only real and meaningful experience the Saints QB room has at this point is limited to Derek Carr and Taysom Hill.

 

[Boy_of_wonder75]

You were a little later to the party than expected but you arrived without a doubt to put your spin on what involves Taysom Hill.

No matter what your take is on it, the Fact is Taysom Hill is an NFL QB on the Saints roster, whether you can accept it or not.

You are suggesting that the Saints will keep Carr, Haener, Rattler, and Hill. The official count in that scenario would be 4 QBs.



By experienced backup one must assume you are speaking of Nathan Peterman, a journeyman QB who entered the league in 2017 and now with his 4th team. His Experience is limited to appearing in a total of 15 games with 5 starts having a 1-4 record as a starter while throwing a total of 4 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He has a career QB Rating of 39.4. That's not the kind of experience anyone can get excited about and would hope not to have to rely on him playing, ever.

You mentioned that the Saints now have two younger players at the QB position on the roster. They actually have 3, Kellen Mond, Jake Haener, and Spencer Rattler.

Mond was a 2021 3rd round draft choice by the Vikings. He's still young at 24 yrs of age. Now on his 4th team he has appeared in 1 game and has thrown a total of 3 passes, completing 2 of them for a total of 5 yards.

Jake Haener was drafted by the Saints in the 4th round in 2023. He is young at 25 years of age. He has been active just once on gameday. He hasn't yet thrown a pass.

Spencer Rattler was just drafted by the Saints in the 5th round of the 2024 draft. He is young at 23 years of age. He hasn't yet thrown a single pass in training camp much less an NFL game.

The only real and meaningful experience the Saints QB room has at this point is limited to Derek Carr and Taysom Hill.

Kellen Mond is a camp body and little more than that. Peterman has also rushed 20+ times for 87 yards and a TD in those 15 games. He's a backup, pure and simple. I said what I did because I AM AGREEING WITH YOU ABOUT TAYSOM HILL'S DESIGNATION, you git. The Saints will be keeping Hill and ALSO three other qbs.