Transitioning into the post-Drew Brees era, the biggest question for the New Orleans Saints heading into training camp was who would be taking snaps as the starting quarterback. Heading into the regular season, they have a definitive answer.
Jameis Winston beat out Taysom Hill for the right to call himself the Day 1 starter in the bayou and in retrospect, it ended up not being particularly close. Winston impressed in camp and sealed himself the job by completing nine of 10 passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns in their preseason bout with Jacksonville.
Another battle to keep tabs on heading into the season is who will emerge as the No. 2 WR option behing Michael Thomas. Tre’Quan Smith is a steady hand but rookie Marquez Callaway really turned heads throughout the preseason.
Saints 53-man roster following roster cuts
New Orleans Saints, 2021, 53-man roster
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Position | Name |
| C | Will Clapp |
| C/G | Erik McCoy |
| C/G | Cesar Ruiz |
| CB | Paulson Adebo |
| CB | Ken Crawley |
| CB | Marshon Lattimore |
| CB | P.J. Williams |
| DB | J.T. Gray |
| DE | Marcus Davenport |
| DE | Carl Granderson |
| DE | Cameron Jordan |
| DE | Tanoh Kpassagnon |
| DE | Payton Turner |
| DL | Malcolm Roach |
| DT | Christian Ringo |
| DT | Shy Tuttle |
| G/T | Andrus Peat |
| K | Wil Lutz |
| K | Aldrick Rosas |
| LB | Zack Baun |
| LB | Demario Davis |
| LB | Andrew Dowell |
| LB | Kaden Elliss |
| LB | Chase Hansen |
| LB | Pete Werner |
| LS | Zach Wood |
| OL | James Hurst |
| OL | Calvin Throckmorton |
| OLB | Kwon Alexander |
| P | Blake Gillikin |
| QB | Ian Book |
| QB | Taysom Hill |
| QB | Jameis Winston |
| RB | Tony Jones Jr. |
| RB | Alvin Kamara |
| RB | Latavius Murray |
| RB | Dwayne Washington |
| S | C.J. Gardner-Johnson |
| S | Jeff Heath |
| S | Marcus Williams |
| SS | Malcolm Jenkins |
| T | Terron Armstead |
| T | Ryan Ramczyk |
| T | Landon Young |
| TE | Garrett Griffin |
| TE | Juwan Johnson |
| TE | Adam Trautman |
| TE | Nick Vannett |
| WR | Marquez Callaway |
| WR | Lil'Jordan Humphrey |
| WR | Ty Montgomery |
| WR | Tre'Quan Smith |
| WR | Deonte Harris |
| Reserve | PUP |
| WR | Michael Thomas |
| Reserve | Injured |
| DT | Jalen Dalton |
| OL | Ethan Greenidge |
| CB | Brian Poole |
| TE | Dylan Soehner |
| LB | Bryce Thompson |
| CB | Marcus Willoughby |
*Player who was waived with an injury designation and has reverted back to the team’s injured reserve list
Saints roster cuts
- QB Trevor Siemian
- RB Devonta Freeman
- RB Stevie Scott
- FB Alex Armah
- WR Kawaan Baker
- WR Chris Hogan
- WR Jake Lampman
- WR Tommylee Lewis
- WR Jalen McCleskey
- WR Kevin White
- WR Eason Winston Jr.
- TE Josh Pederson
- TE Ethan Wolf
- OL Caleb Benenoch
- OL Michael Brown
- OL Derrick Kelly II
- OT Jordan Mills
- OT Kyle Murphy
- OG J.R. Sweezy
- C Christian Montano
- DE Marcus Willoughby*
- DT Albert Huggins
- DT Damian Square
- DL Josiah Bronson
- R.J. McIntosh
- LB Wynton McManis
- LB Quentin Poling
- LB Shaq Smith
- LB Sutton Smith
- LB Noah Spence
- CB Prince Amukamara
- CB Grant Haley
- CB Bryan Mills
- DB Adonis Alexander
- DB Eric Burrell
- DB KeiVarae Russell
- DB Bryce Thompson*
- DB Deuce Wallace
- DB Lawrence Woods
- K Brett Maher
- P Nolan Cooney