Tough Saints Roster Cuts on the Horizon

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Sep 20, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints fullback Austin Johnson (35) celebrates after scoring a touchdown in the second half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won, 23-19.Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports /

Fullbacks

Austin Johnson #35

The man with the best beard on the team should hold onto his job another year. Austin Johnson outlasted two challengers in pricey free agent Erik Lorig (who, to be fair, struggled with a lower leg injury early in his tenure) and former converted defensive end Toben Opurum, but now he’s up against a favorite of University of Michigan prodigal son/head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Sione Houma, like Johnson, is a career fullback and enthusiastic special teams participant. Who Dat Dish writer Dean Mullen profiled the charismatic Houma last month, which is worth revisiting. Houma started every game for Michigan last year as a special teams blocker, and he’s already pushing Johnson in that area through this summer’s minicamp practices.

Johnson also saw a huge cut of special teams action on the Saints roster, logging 38.9-percent of all kickoff/punt/field goal snaps played, which is fifth among returning players. He won’t be easy to unseat, even for the ukulele-toting and aptly-named Houma, so I’m not expecting turnover here.

That said, I don’t think any of us would complain about adding another colorful new face to the team – especially if they’re a badass Polynesian fullback who can fly around the field at a brisk 5.8-feet per second.

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for updates as I continue through my early-bird projections for who makes the Saints roster this year. I guarantee you’ll find something to get on my case about.