By Ross Jackson
NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Saints have released their pre-game roster moves ahead of Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Among them, the team has officially ruled out a key player that looked like he might have been trending toward a surprise return. If that’s going to happen, he and the team will have to wait for next week’s season-ending matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Here are the roster moves the Saints announced on Saturday:
- Wide receiver Chris Olave has been ruled out.
- Offensive lineman Kyle Hergel and linebacker Isaiah Stalbird have been signed to the active roster from the practice squad.
- Running back Clyde Edwards-Hellaire and offensive lineman Austin Deculus have been elevated.
- Starting Center Erik McCoy and left guard Lucas Patrick have been sent to Injured Reserve.
Olave has been a full participant at each of the practices this week, however those practices were not the team’s typical schedule because of the short week and holiday. It’s always been a longshot whether or not Olave would return to the actual playing field before the season was done, despite his return to practice. Not only is he recovering from a scary pair of confirmed concussion, he also has not played football since Week 9.
Olave will have one more shot, next week at the Bucs, to get back to the lineup.
The elevation of Hergel is to be expected with the Saints thin on the offensive line again. The elevation of former LSU Tiger Deculus helps there as well.
Stalbird, on the other hand, is a pointed move. Interim head coach Darren Rizzi said this week that the staff will look over the roster to see if there are any players that have not seen playing time, or haven’t seen some in a while, that they want to get an evaluation on. Stalbird looks like his call-up might be for that very reason.
The undrafted rookie saw all three of his standard elevations spent early in the season. But instead of the Saints moving on from him, they kept him around. When Rizzi assumed head coach duties, Stalbird moved from practicing with the linebackers to working with the safeties. Expect to see him with the defensive backs group and mostly contributing on special teams. A great opportunity for the young, versatile defender.
Edwards-Helaire told LouisianaSports.Net that having his name across the back of a gameday Saints jersey was a dream of his. Now, that dream will become a reality on Sunday. Considering how lost the backfield looked without star running back Alvin Kamara, the Louisiana native could be in for a pretty nice workload in his Saints debut.
McCoy and Patrick’s seasons are over as they head to Injured Reserve. With just two games remaining, the season will come to an end before they would be eligible for a return. Rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler will again be behind a battered interior offensive line.
