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New Orleans Saints officially begin their roster cuts to 75 men

By Andrew Schuster

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Aug 22, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints fullback Erik Lorig (41) against the New England Patriots during the second half of a preseason game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Patriots defeated the Saints 26-24. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

The New Orleans Saints‘ roster cuts are underway.

The deadline for NFL teams to trim down their rosters from 90 to 75 men is today 3:00 PM CST.  With 90 men on the roster even after the Saints were able to deal receiver/return specialist Jalen Saunders, who was bound to be cut due to rookie Marcus Murphy‘s emergence, Sean Payton and company continued with the mandatory flurry of moves by parting ways with fullback Erik Lorig, OL Antonio Johnson, linebacker Chris Young, linebacker Ronald Powell (waived), defensive end Markus Pierce-Brewster and wide receiver Lance Lewis, according to multiple reports.

Erik Lorig never panned out after being signed last year only to battle injuries.  With Austin Johnson looking solid as the No. 1 and Toben Opurum jumping to the second spot, it became apparent Lorig’s days in the Big Easy were numbered.

Ronald Powell, who the Saints drafted in the fifth-round a year ago, represents another one gone from the atrocious 2014 draft class in New Orleans, leaving just Brandin Cooks, Stanley Jean-Baptiste and Vinnie Sunseri.  Though Powell could be waived with injury designation and placed on injured reserve if a settlement isn’t reached.  You cannot flat out cut injured players.

Johnson, an undrafted rookie from North Texas, was a long-shot to make the team with all the depth along the offensive line.  Chris Young was another player who was just around for camp body purposes.  The same goes for Lance Lewis, who looked good at times.  However, there are a handful of wide receivers who have separated themselves from their competition, and Lewis was on the wrong end of that spectrum.  Markus Pierce-Brewster is another UDFA who was a long-shot.  All these moves were expected.

It was reported that Anthony Spencer was among the players cut, but he will be headed to injured reserve, but it’s likely his time in New Orleans is over.

UPDATED:

– WR Nick Toon waived
– WR R.J. Harris released
– CB Terrence Frederick released
– DT David Hunter released
– OL Cole Manhart released
– CB P.J. Williams placed on season-ending IR
– S Vinnie Sunseri waived
– OLB Anthony Spencer placed in IR
– CB Travis Manning released

In a Tuesday afternoon interview, Sean Payton confirmed all the moves, also adding the players who were waived (Toon, Sunseri, Powell) have a good chance returning to the roster on injured reserve.

The moves will continue to pour in again on Saturday until the New Orleans Saints get their final 53-man roster.  Stay tuned and keep up with the action here at Who Dat Dish.

Next: Saints finally call it quits with Nick Toon

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