Saints Put Dalton, Greenidge & Poole on IR, Waive Two Others

NFL teams had to make a few roster moves today, going from a mandated 85 players to 80.

In the case of the New Orleans Saints, they waived two players and placed another three on Injured Reserve (IR).

Defensive tackle Jalen Dalton, cornerback Brian Poole, and offensive lineman Ethan Greenidge move to IR, while kicker Nolan Cooney and linebacker Marcus Willoughby hit the waiver wire.

The most surprising move is Dalton to IR, only because he met with the media via zoom after his strong performance in Monday night's preseason win over the Jaguars, and was smiling ear to ear.

According to Saints insider Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football, Dalton fully tore his tricep.

While plenty of players on the bubble of the Saints roster are relieved to still be on the roster, the most difficult cut day comes on August 31st. That's the deadline for teams to have their regular-season roster set at a mandated 53, meaning the Saints will have to make roster moves (cut, waive, or injury designation) on a minimum of 27 players, but possibly more if they sign a player or players off waivers who do not make 53 on another team.

On a different/positive note, second-year tight end Adam Trautman appears to have avoided a major injury, as Underhill reports.

Trautman was carted off the field early in Monday's game.

Players on the bubble will have an opportunity to make one more case to earn a roster spot this Saturday when the Saints host the Arizona Cardinals at 7:00 pm in the preseason finale.