New Orleans Saints waive 10 players on the eve of roster cuts deadline

The New Orleans Saints began the difficult process of cutting down their roster before the NFL deadline by waiving 10 players on Saturday evening. All teams must meet the 53-man roster limit no later than 5 p.m. CT on Sunday, Aug. 30, and many of them have gotten a head start. You can keep up with all of the Saints' roster moves, trade rumors, and reported developments in our live tracker right here .

Most of the Saints' initial roster cuts were on the practice squad last year; that group includes wide receiver Ronnie Bell, safety Elliott Davison, quarterback Hunter Dekkers , and tight end Zaire Mitchell-Paden. Edge rusher Garrett Neson was briefly part of New Orleans' practice squad a year ago before moving on. Another wide receiver, Bub Means , spent the 2025 season on injured reserve after going down in the preseason. And offensive lineman Xavier Truss remained on the Saints' 53-man roster all season after being claimed off of waivers from the Denver Broncos .

A handful of other players have been waived without any previous experience in New Orleans: defensive tackle Brien Taylor Jr. and edge rusher Malakai Williams, both of whom tried out early in training camp and signed with the Saints after injuries sidelined starters like Cameron Jordan (for a month) and Bryan Bresee (for the year). They may have been brought in to maintain numbers and keep practice running smoothly, but they still got to wear the fleur-de-lis into a game at the Caesars Superdome. That matters.

All ten of these players will test the waiver wire, giving other teams an opportunity to claim them. If they go unclaimed, there may be room for them on the practice squad in New Orleans. We'll just have to wait and see if they stick around.