Latest / AFR Saints / Saints Final 53-Man Roster Projection: Ross Jackson Predicts New Orleans’ Roster

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Saints Final 53-Man Roster Projection: Ross Jackson Predicts New Orleans’ Roster · AFR Saints

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  Speaker 1: practiced at Uelmen last night. They've added a couple of cornerbacks.
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  Speaker 1: They got their final preseason game this weekend. Great time
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  Speaker 1: to bring on Ross Jackson. Yo, dude, how are you? Hey, dude,
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  Speaker 1: I'm doing great. How are you? Very well. Okay, 53-man
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  Speaker 1: roster projection is up at LouisianaSports.net. What was your most
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  Speaker 1: angst-inducing decision?
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  Speaker 2: Man, I've got to be honest. I didn't really have one.
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  Speaker 1: Okay. Love that.
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  Speaker 2: This roster just felt so easy to project. Now I'm
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  Speaker 2: going to get like 23 things wrong because the Saints
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  Speaker 2: are going to make different decisions than everything. But this
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  Speaker 2: just felt like such an easy roster to project. Maybe
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  Speaker 2: the toughest place where I did a little bit of
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  Speaker 2: negotiating was just mostly trying to figure out, wasn't necessarily
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  Speaker 2: a specific position, but trying to project how the Saints
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  Speaker 2: would handle some of their roster stuff. They've known to
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  Speaker 2: be a little stubborn about the idea of using injured
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  Speaker 2: reserve slots. Uh, and so you, you're only limited to
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  Speaker 2: eight of those per season. You can use two of
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  Speaker 2: them right off the bat at roster cuts. Would they
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  Speaker 2: really use both of those eligible and two of their eight,
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  Speaker 2: a quarter of them, right? out of the gate. That
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  Speaker 2: was maybe the hardest part to try to figure out
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  Speaker 2: between wide receiver, Jordan Tyson, defensive line, John Ridgway, the third,
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  Speaker 2: as well as running back, Devin Neal, any of those
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  Speaker 2: three guys, as well as a guy like Cam Jordan
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  Speaker 2: potentially could be a candidate for injury reserve, probably Cam
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  Speaker 2: Jordan less so, but any of those other three guys
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  Speaker 2: could be. And so really the toughest part was just
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  Speaker 2: figuring out, okay, if you use one of those slots,
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  Speaker 2: where do you maybe pick up another player and add another,
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  Speaker 2: you know, talented player somewhere that can, that can help
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  Speaker 2: out your depth a bit.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, I want to chop through a few other things here.
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  Speaker 1: You do have the Saints keeping five running backs, including
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  Speaker 1: Kendra Miller, Audrey Guestamay, and Devin Neal. Why?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think the biggest thing is because I couldn't,
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  Speaker 2: my thought was, you carry five in on the initial
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  Speaker 2: roster and then potentially move Devin Neal onto injured reserve
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  Speaker 2: after that, because he's dealing with this hamstring injury. Our
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  Speaker 2: understanding over at Louisiana sports.net is that that could be a,
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  Speaker 2: an absence that rolls along for a little while. If
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  Speaker 2: he seeks specialist help and things like that, just to
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  Speaker 2: make sure that they can address the issues and then
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  Speaker 2: be able to move forward from them. Cause he's had
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  Speaker 2: this hamstring kind of recurring over the course of his
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  Speaker 2: time here in the NFL, when he, didn't deal with
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  Speaker 2: injuries at all during his collegiate year. So they would
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  Speaker 2: like to get that figured out. He and his team.
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  Speaker 2: And so with all of that, I figure you have
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  Speaker 2: three players that you could potentially put on injured reserve,
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  Speaker 2: but you only put two of them on injured reserve
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  Speaker 2: at roster cuts to other ones. The other one you'd
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  Speaker 2: have to carry into the regular season. I just picked
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  Speaker 2: Devin Neal as that player because there's, I guess, a
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  Speaker 2: greater chance that they could find out, okay, he might
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  Speaker 2: be back sooner rather than later, as opposed to the
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  Speaker 2: other guys who feel like those absences are going to
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  Speaker 2: be a.
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  Speaker 1: Little bit longer. Receiver. Um, You have Kevin Austin making
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  Speaker 1: the roster, Jordan Tyson on IR, no Bub Means. So
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  Speaker 1: what does that tell us about the long-term nature of
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  Speaker 1: Bub Means' hamstrings?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it's more so about those guys as contributors. Like,
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  Speaker 2: we've seen Bub Means get a little bit more involved
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  Speaker 2: in the past couple of practices. He's been kind of limited,
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  Speaker 2: I'd say, over the course of the last two practices
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  Speaker 2: since that Rams game. So in a very different way
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  Speaker 2: than we've seen some of the other hamstrings impact, because
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  Speaker 2: the other guys have had hamstrings and we just don't
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  Speaker 2: see them yet. And so, like, Oscar Delp and Devin Neal.
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  Speaker 1: For instance.
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  Speaker 2: And so I think Bub Means is probably a little
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  Speaker 2: bit further along hamstring-wise, but I just think that Kevin
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  Speaker 2: Austin Jr. does more on offense in that he can
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  Speaker 2: line up at X, he can line up at Z,
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  Speaker 2: he can line up in the slot, he can protect
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  Speaker 2: as a run blocker as well as as a pass protector.
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  Speaker 2: He's just somebody that this team is enthralled with. and really,
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  Speaker 2: really likes in terms of the kind of do-it-all nature
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  Speaker 2: that he brings to the game. And if you're going
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  Speaker 2: to make a roster, one of the best ways to
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  Speaker 2: make the roster is to be able to do more
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  Speaker 2: than one thing. And Kevin Austin Jr. is the guy
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  Speaker 2: that consistently checks all the boxes, keeps his head down,
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  Speaker 2: and just does what the team asks of him. I
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  Speaker 2: think that's going to earn him a roster spot while
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  Speaker 2: they figure out the timeline on Jordan Tyson.
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  Speaker 1: Ross, is it common to keep nine offensive linemen on
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  Speaker 1: the final 53?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, nine or ten is usually kind of the way
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  Speaker 2: that you want to go. A team like the Saints
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  Speaker 2: who have dealt with a lot of injury probably would
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  Speaker 2: have a conversation about ten on the offensive line, but
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  Speaker 2: I think nine or ten is pretty standard.
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  Speaker 1: Defensively, we've talked plenty about the cornerback position. That was
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  Speaker 1: my biggest angst coming out of the draft, and free
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  Speaker 1: agency was not addressing corner with respect to the seventh-ranked
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  Speaker 1: kid from Iowa who's not going to make the team.
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  Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, they signed two here today. I mean, you don't
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  Speaker 1: have them on your 53. Do either of those guys
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  Speaker 1: have a shot at making the squad?
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  Speaker 2: I think Michael Davis in particular does. He was a
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  Speaker 2: guy that was signed and worked with the team last year.
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  Speaker 2: He actually appeared in 11 games for the Saints last season,
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  Speaker 2: mostly due to his special teams acumen and did play
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  Speaker 2: some on defense as well. I think he could very
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  Speaker 2: easily be a practice squad guy that this team is
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  Speaker 2: familiar with, that knows the ropes, knows the system, knows
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  Speaker 2: what they want to do both defensively and on special teams.
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  Speaker 2: He would be the one that I would watch out
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  Speaker 2: for as a guy that could absolutely make it on
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  Speaker 2: the practice squad. if he had a longer runway, maybe
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  Speaker 2: he could convince them to keep around on the active roster,
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  Speaker 2: but tough to do when you show up and you
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  Speaker 2: get one practice and one preseason game to kind of
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  Speaker 2: make your, you know, make yourself known. But I think
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  Speaker 2: he could, he could certainly be a practice squad option
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  Speaker 2: because of their familiarity with him.
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  Speaker 1: He's Ross Jackson at Ross Jackson, NOLA. You can read
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  Speaker 1: him at Louisiana sports. That listener watch locked on saints.
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  Speaker 1: Make sure you're subscribed. Okay. We obviously have talked a
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  Speaker 1: ton here about the place kicker battle. And it was
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  Speaker 1: a couple of guys who apparently you don't think are
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  Speaker 1: going to make the team because you have Daniel Carlson
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  Speaker 1: taking that spot. Why Carlson this late in the process?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it just feels like the writing is on the
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  Speaker 2: wall there. You know, I think back to last season
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  Speaker 2: when it comes to the punter position. The Saints had
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  Speaker 2: Matthew Hayball, who was not a success for them in 2024.
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  Speaker 2: And so they had brought in some competition for him
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  Speaker 2: with former ref. be successful during the course of training.
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  Speaker 1: I'm sorry, your phone went out when you said they
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  Speaker 1: brought in, you're talking about hay ball, you said brought
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  Speaker 1: in competition and then your phone went out. Can you
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  Speaker 1: pick up there?
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  Speaker 2: Oh, gotcha. Yep, they brought in competition from Alabama, the
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  Speaker 2: undrafted free agent punter from last year, James Burnham. James Burnham,
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  Speaker 2: also not very successful throughout the training camp process. And
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  Speaker 2: so then they brought in Kai Kroger very, very late
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  Speaker 2: in the process. And when they brought him in, it
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  Speaker 2: kind of felt like the writing was on the wall
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  Speaker 2: of like, oh, okay, well, if you're not going to
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  Speaker 2: pick between the two punters and you're bringing somebody else in,
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  Speaker 2: you're probably going to go with the guy that you
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  Speaker 2: brought in. I kind of look at it the same
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  Speaker 2: way with Daniel Carlson added to that Daniel Carlson, eight
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  Speaker 2: years of experience, two of those being all pro seasons,
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  Speaker 2: one second team, one first team. And you have so
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  Speaker 2: much flexibility with how you deal with the Charlie Smith
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  Speaker 2: piece of this, because he's probably the kicker on your,
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  Speaker 2: on your roster with the most upside in that he's
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  Speaker 2: the most raw prospect with the most promise, but you
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  Speaker 2: still want to continue to develop them. You can do
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  Speaker 2: so on the practice squad without giving up a practice
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  Speaker 2: squad spot because he would still qualify as an international
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  Speaker 2: practice player. So it just feels like you can have
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  Speaker 2: a little bit of the best of both worlds in
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  Speaker 2: terms of the developmental guy that could eventually turn a
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  Speaker 2: corner in Charlie Smith. You're just looking for the consistency
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  Speaker 2: from him and you get the veteran experience from somebody
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  Speaker 2: that's maybe a little bit more proven, a little bit
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  Speaker 2: more NFL ready, obviously as an eight year veteran, uh,
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  Speaker 2: in Daniel Carlson. So it just feels like the, the,
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  Speaker 2: the more logical, maybe logistics ready, I should say, maybe
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  Speaker 2: not logical, but most like logistics appropriate, uh, kind of
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  Speaker 2: move to make at this point.
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  Speaker 1: Uh, Ross, the Saints are gonna play the final preseason
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  Speaker 1: game tomorrow, Friday night, uh, against Dallas. It's a 7
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  Speaker 1: o'clock kick, by the way, for those interested. Who do
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  Speaker 1: you think has the most to gain or lose in
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  Speaker 1: that game? Is there anything really on the line for
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  Speaker 1: these players, or is the hay in the barn?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, no, I think for a couple of players, there's
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  Speaker 2: still a lot to gain. I mean, I think a
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  Speaker 2: lot of guys like Mike Helton came in from from
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  Speaker 2: central Michigan and ends up being a player that had
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  Speaker 2: a really, really good first preseason game. And then it
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  Speaker 2: ends up kind of disappearing since then, right? He's kind
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  Speaker 2: of fallen out of the spotlight since then. And now
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  Speaker 2: is an opportunity to put himself back on the spotlight. Now,
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  Speaker 2: you know, he's a guy that a lot of teams
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  Speaker 2: might be interested in. There's not, it's not like there's
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  Speaker 2: a wealth of edge rusher talent around the NFL. And
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  Speaker 2: there are some teams like for instance, the Seattle Seahawks,
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  Speaker 2: who've been making a lot of moves here recently and, Uh,
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  Speaker 2: they're in need of edge rusher help. And so because
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  Speaker 2: of that, you kind of are in a position if
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  Speaker 2: you're Mike Heldman to say, okay, well I can, I
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  Speaker 2: can deliver a performance that makes this team afraid to
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  Speaker 2: move on for me because some other team might actually
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  Speaker 2: want to claim me off of waivers and add me
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  Speaker 2: to their active roster. So let me go out there
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  Speaker 2: and show something so that I can stick around. And like,
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  Speaker 2: he's the guy that has a lot to gain and
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  Speaker 2: he's either got a lot to gain here in And
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  Speaker 2: if nothing else, he ends up as a practice squad guy,
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  Speaker 2: and that could be helpful too. So I feel like
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  Speaker 2: he's got a lot to gain. I feel like guys
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  Speaker 2: like Zemir White as well as Daniel Carlson have a
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  Speaker 2: lot to gain with being late additions to the team.
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  Speaker 2: And I also highlight a guy like defensive tackle Christian
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  Speaker 2: Boyd who, with the question marks around John Ridgway's health
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  Speaker 2: and timeline right now, could potentially be the guy that
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  Speaker 2: steps in as that fifth defensive tackle in that rotation
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  Speaker 2: and potentially earns a role there. He has flashed a
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  Speaker 2: lot during the preseason. If he continues to do that
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  Speaker 2: in this game up against the Cowboys, he solidifies that
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  Speaker 2: opportunity for himself instead of opening the door for maybe
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  Speaker 2: a veteran like Miles Cole. And so I do think
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  Speaker 2: that there are some players that truly have some opportunity
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  Speaker 2: here in this fight. preseason game to make some moves
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  Speaker 2: for themselves.
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  Speaker 1: Ross Jackson, last thing, you've gotten to see every bit
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  Speaker 1: of media availability, practice, and now two preseason games with
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  Speaker 1: one to go. And there have been a lot of injuries,
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  Speaker 1: literally starting with Brian Brzee going down the first day.
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  Speaker 1: Has your opinion on the team, the season, whatever your
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  Speaker 1: projection was going to be for the Saints, has it
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  Speaker 1: changed from day one of camp to now?
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  Speaker 2: Not yet. I still think that this is a team
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  Speaker 2: based on the injuries around the division as well and
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  Speaker 2: some of the turmoil around the division as well that
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  Speaker 2: can end up winning its division. I think that the
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  Speaker 2: biggest test is going to be how quickly they can
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  Speaker 2: get some of the pieces back, those that can come back,
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  Speaker 2: Alvin Kamara, Jordan Tyson, Cam Jordan, Quincy Riley. I think
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  Speaker 2: the biggest test for them is going to be getting
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  Speaker 2: those guys back on the field and keeping them on
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  Speaker 2: the field. So that you're not, you know, there's this
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  Speaker 2: whole conversation around, you know, some of these players are
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  Speaker 2: probably going to have some recurring injuries all throughout their career.
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  Speaker 2: So it's the performance that they give in between. It's
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  Speaker 2: the color within the lines that makes the picture beautiful.
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  Speaker 2: And so can you, can you get the most out
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  Speaker 2: of these players in those scenarios and in that sort
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  Speaker 2: of framework, if they can do that, then I think
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  Speaker 2: that this is a team that still has the ability
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  Speaker 2: to compete. It's an easy enough schedule and an easy
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  Speaker 2: enough division. I could still walk away with nine or
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  Speaker 2: 10 wins. I might, I might put them closer to
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  Speaker 2: the eight, nine win situation. category right now in terms
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  Speaker 2: of a projection than I was maybe a nine, 10
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  Speaker 2: win projection, but it's all kind of in the same family. Nonetheless,
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  Speaker 2: I think that it's still a team with a lot
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  Speaker 2: of potential, or let me say it's a team with
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  Speaker 2: a lot of potential in terms of what it can
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  Speaker 2: take advantage of. It's just got to be able to
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  Speaker 2: take advantage of it. And beyond the injuries, discipline is
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  Speaker 2: going to be number one. And that's been a Kellen
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  Speaker 2: Moore problem when it comes to this team over the
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  Speaker 2: course of the past couple of years, penalties, pre-snap penalties,
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  Speaker 2: things like that. That's going to be the real kind
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  Speaker 2: of test for them and their ability to be productive in,
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  Speaker 2: in 2026, not just navigating the injuries, even with those
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  Speaker 2: guys on the field, they still got to be able
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  Speaker 2: to be consistent in their execution.
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  Speaker 1: The color between the lines helps paint the beautiful picture.
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  Speaker 1: That's why he's the best. I mean, what a poet.
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  Speaker 2: This guy is. He's Ross Jackson.
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  Speaker 1: LouisianaSports.net, LockedOnSaints, a subscribed podcast, YouTube, or read him over
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: at LouisianaSports.net. Thanks, dude. We appreciate it.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you, bud. You take care. Stay safe. Talk to
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  Speaker 2: you soon.