The New Orleans Saints have quite a few holes to fill when it comes to their roster heading into the 2025 season. With some roster moves having already been made, and one injury of note already being added to the list during training camp, there are some choices the franchise has to make in terms of how it wants to fill those spots for the time being. Seemingly, it looks as though they will make a signing in the near future to fix at least one of the problems.
- Punters Jake Camarda and Kai Kroeger. Camarda played college football at Georgia, and was a fourth-round pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2022 draft, but his performance trailed off after a strong 2023 season. Kroeger punted at South Carolina the last five years and initially signed with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent this May, only to be waived earlier this week.
- Linebackers Jared Bartlett and Keenan Pili. Bartlett also signed with the Jets this spring but was waived at the start of training camp; he spent five years at West Virginia before transferring to Cincinnati for 2024. Pili started his college career at BYU and transferred to Tennessee, where he was named team captain in 2024 and led the Vols in tackles until he suffered a season-ending knee injury in October.
- Defensive back Luke Gunderson. Gunderson is another rookie; he played linebacker at Northern State in South Dakota but was listed at just 215 pounds, so a move to safety could make sense. At the same time, it’s been reported that he weighed in at 241 pounds at his pro day. Either way he’s a high-end athlete with good movement skills.
- Offensive tackles Ricky Lee, Jalen McKenzie, and Jonathan Mendoza. Lee, a left tackle by trade, has bounced around the league often after signing with the Carolina Panthers as a rookie free agent, spending time with four different NFL teams and the UFL’s Arlington Renegades. He played college football at North Carolina Central and North Carolina A&T. McKenzie lined up at right tackle and right guard for the USC Trojans before turning pro with the Tennessee Titans; he’s auditioned with several different teams in three years while playing both tackle spots, plus some snaps at left guard. As for Mendoza? He knows Saints quarterback Tyler Shough very well, having transferred to Louisville last year after three seasons at Yale. He recorded 800-plus snaps at both tackle spots and almost 300 snaps at right guard in college.
Linebacker and defensive back both ultimately make sense solely because teams always need more of them, and if J.T. Gray misses a decent amount of time, having a special teams option would not hurt. It will be fascinating to see how things develop from this bunch of players, and who they ultimately sign, if anyone.
