Saints Dump Pro-Bowl DT Rod Coleman Among Others In Latest Roster Trim

It’s not really a surprise to any0ne that cuts have begun, all NFL teams must get their roster down to a 75 player minimum by tomorrow, the Saints just started early.

New Orleans just hit the 75 mark by cutting three players, DT Rod Coleman, CB Gregg Fassitt, and WR D’Juan Woods.

Fassit and Woods were no surprise cut.

Woods has battled a neck injury for most of  camp that has prevented him from playing in two out of three of the Saints pre-season games, and with the talent and depth the Saints have at receiver there was no way this kid was going to make it.

Fassit, after attending camp with the Saints last season before being released with a knee injury, was re-signed on the heels of the teams release of CB Jason David a few weeks back.

Fassitt saw game action in Houston and Oakland but barley registered a blip on the radar. He injured his hamstring during the Saints win over Oakland and from that point it was a no brainer.

The biggest surprise is the team dumping Rod Coleman whom they pulled out of retirement in March after he sat out the 2008 season.

Coleman has not been a gigantic standout through camp but he has played strongly enough to ensure, or so we thought, his safety through the first round of cuts.

Coleman has an outstanding resume that includes a Pro-Bowl berth in 2005 and a stellar stat line consisting of 271 tackles, 58 ½ sacks, 10 forced fumbles, seven fumble recoveries and an interception over his ten year career.

The Saints don’t have much depth at DT as they only have five on the roster consisting of some veteran players and unproven rookies.

• Sedrick Ellis (S) – 2nd year out of USC
• Kendrick Clancy (S) – 10th year out of Mississippi
• Remi Ayodele – 3rd year out of Oklahoma
• DeMario Pressley – 2nd year out of N.Carolina State
• Earl Hayman (R) – Louisville

Ellis and Clancy are your starters for sure, but from there the picture is a little cloudy. The Saints have made no indications of who or how many DT’s they will keep on the roster beyond Ellis/Clancy.

Pressley showed some promise last season before landing on injured reserve and Ayodele apparently is no better than a backup while Hayman is an unproven rookie.

There are more cuts to come before September 5th as all teams must make the 53 man roster minimum by that date. That leaves 22 players on the Saints  roster who  have to go somewhere.

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