Saints elevate Nephi Sewell, rule out John Ridgeway III

By Ross Jackson

NEW ORLEANS, La. — The New Orleans Saints have announced their Week 7 roster moves, including a final eligible standard elevation for a key special teams piece. 

The Saints announced on Saturday that they will be elevating linebacker Nephi Sewell and downgrading defensive tackle John Ridgeway III to out for the game. 

Same roster moves as last week for the #Saints:

KB Nephi Sewell has been elevated.
DT John Ridgeway III has been downgraded to out.

The Saints have til Wednesday afternoon, effectively, to make a decision n Ridgeway. If he’s not added to the active roster, he’ll revert to IR.

— Ross Jackson (@RossJacksonNOLA) October 18, 2025

This is Sewell’s final gameday elevation for the season. He has been brought up in each of the last three weeks, including this one, in an attempt to aid New Orleans’ struggling special teams unit. So far, the decision has not had much effect with the unit as a while continuing to show some uncharacteristic flaws. 

Meanwhile, Ridgeway has been working his way back since after the Week 4 matchup against the Buffalo Bills. If he does not find his way back to the active roster by Wednesday afternoon, he could revert to Injured Reserve (IR) for the remainder of the season. 

Ridgeway was placed on the injury list during roster cuts with a pectoral injury. With his 21-day practice window opened, he has just a few more days to find his way back to the active roster, which will be a challenge because of the health otherwise at the position. 

These are the same moves the Saints made last week, heading into their matchup with the New England Patriots mostly healthy. New Orleans has the same fortune now, as they get ready to take on the Chicago Bears.