Saints announce flurry of roster moves ahead of Week 6 practices

By Ross Jackson

NEW ORLEANS, La. – The New Orleans Saints announced a slew of roster moves Tuesday afternoon, including signing a new cornerback and moving on from a top kick returner.

The Saints’ moves:

– Signing veteran cornerback Michael Davis to the active roster

– Waiving running back and kick returner Velus Jones Jr. 

– Signing wide receiver Ronnie Bell and rookie tight end Moliki Matavao to the practice squad

– Terminating the practice squad contracts of defensive end Garrett Nelson, tackle Sataoa Laumea and wide receiver Tommy Mellott

The Biggest Takeaways

Adding Davis seems to indicate that either there is a new injury at cornerback somewhere or that veteran cornerback Isaac Yiadom’s hamstring injury may continue to limit his availability for some time. In either case, the 6-foot-2, 198-pound vet corner reunites with defensive coordinator Brandon Staley who was Davis’ head coach with the Los Angeles Chargers from 2021-2023.

Davis, who played college football at BYU, has eight career interceptions with one returned for a touchdown. He has also piled on 70 passes defensed during his career, with 37 taking place between 2021 and 2023.

The waiving of Jones may seem surprising, but his key impact opportunity has been on special teams as a kick returner, and he has not been able to turn those chances into production through the first five games. There’s a foreseeable chance that he winds up back with the team once health elsewhere allows or even on the practice squad. But going into Sunday’s game, if Jones does not return, perhaps quarterback Taysom Hill will be lined up next to running back Kendre Miller to handle kick return duties.

With Nelson being moved on from the practice squad, it could indicate the long-awaited return of defensive end Chase Young, who has not yet found his way to the field while managing a calf injury for the first five weeks of the year. Head coach Kellen Moore ruled Young out on Wednesday of Week 5’s practices in order to allow him to better focus on his recovery. Perhaps it’s paid off and Young could be headed back to the gridiron in the coming weeks.