Dwayne Washington is planning to stick around on the Saints in 2022

New Orleans Saints running back Dwayne Washington was released as part of a flurry of Saints’ roster cuts on Tuesday, but expect him to land back on the team in 2022.

The team’s current 53-man active roster isn’t set in stone, and plenty of shuffling will take place between now and the start of the season. Both Washington and UDFA Abram Smith were released from the running back room, but of the two of them, Washington has a very high chance of making it back on the roster.

Washington is a vested veteran which means he’s not subject to waivers. NOLA released him on Tuesday to open up a roster spot to add tackle Tanner Owen from waivers, yet the team will likely re-sign Washington once other moves are processed and the dust has settled.

Such are the roster gymnastics of the cut deadline. Washington himself announced on Twitter that he wasn’t going anywhere as the seventh-year back seems primed to return to the Saints’ squad in 2022.

Saints temporarily release RB Dwayne Washington to make space on the roster

Washington put together a solid preseason in 2022 and can be expected to take on his special teams role yet again this season. With Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram as the top two backs, Washington has made a case for a roster spot as a specials teams standout and gadget player.

In the last three years at NOLA, Washington has played over 64 percent of special teams snaps each season. He’s never started a game for the Saints but he’s never needed to, and he should continue making his biggest impact in situational plays.

The intense competition in the running back room has finally come to an end, and NOLA will most likely roster four familiar faces this upcoming season: Kamara, Ingram, Washington, and Tony Jones Jr.

Prepare for Washington to make his predictable return to the roster soon.