By Ross Jackson
After releasing veteran offensive lineman Josh Ball, the New Orleans Saints hosted eight free agents for tryouts Tuesday afternoon.
After a light day of practice, the Saints got a look at a range of players from veteran punters to undrafted free agent defensive backs turned linebacks, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill.
Linebackers:
Jared Bartlett
Keenan Pili
Defensive Back:
Luke Gunderson – played linebacker at Minnesota
Offensive Tackles:
Ricky Lee
Jalen McKenzie
Jonathan Mendoza
Punters:
Jake Camarda
Kai Kroeger
The Saints have an open roster spot following Ball’s release and could be looking to fill it with another player that will help bolster the team’s depth throughout camp. They also hosted free agent tight end Noah Fant (who took another visit with the Miami Dolphins) last week and have an ongoing courtship of cornerback Asante Samuel Jr.
Punter Tryouts Raise Eyebrows
New Orleans currently has two punters on the roster: incumbent starter Matthew Hayball and undrafted free agent challenger James Burnip. Adding two more punters to the list has raised questions about Hayball and Burnip’s performances.
Camarda in particular brings a lot of intrigue as a former fourth-round draft pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2022. He spent the last three years across the NFC South with the Bucs. 38.7% on his punts landed inside the 20 last year, but that falls well beneath the league-leading 54.7% of Hayball.
Saints head coach Kellen Moore spoke Tuesday about how the league’s new kickoff rule changes the evaluation for positions like punter because of the potential to now start at the 35-yard-line for touchbacks out of the endzone. Now, offenses starting at that advanced position thanks to another offseason rule change are just one first down away from effectively being midfield.
“There’s a lot more ‘going-in punts’ where you’re trying to pin someone down (in their own territory),” Moore said. “Just because the drive starts sooner and that’s where it applies.”
Leg power for punters will always be valuable, but location and precision have grown in importance at the position.
Linebacker/Defensive Back Makes Sense
Veteran safety J.T. Gray is currently nursing what sounds like a minor hamstring injury. Because of this, more special teams talent in training camp makes a lot of sense. Just because the injury sounds minor doesn’t mean that Gray won’t miss time. The Saints don’t have much new to learn about the special teams captain. He’s a proven commodity already at this point. With that, it may be more advantageous to allow Gray the time to fully heal and play things safe, especially with pesky hamstring injuries which can easily reoccur.
Adding versatile and athletic tacklers for camp purposes is a wise approach.
Offensive Tackle Most Immediate Replacement
The most immediate position that could be addressed is adding a new tackle to the rotation following the release of Ball. One tryout option, Mendoza, is interesting because of his previously existing relationship with Saints’ rookie quarterback Tyler Shough.
After spending three seasons at Yale, along with Saints receiver Mason Tipton, Mendoza transferred to Louisville in 2024. While with the Cardinals, he notched most of his playing time at right tackle, but saw some reps on the left side as well. He also saw over 200 snaps at right guard while at Yale.
If the Saints decide to reinvest into the offensive line with their newly open roster spot, Mendoza’s familiarity with Shough could be tempting.
