The New Orleans Saints were expected to make some surprising moves as they trimmed their roster down to 53; however, they still managed to waive a player no one expected. In the mid-afternoon on roster cutdown day, they parted ways with safety Terrell Burgess.
A veteran defensive back, Burgess joined the team last season with a Super Bowl ring on his finger. Only ever really used sparingly, he gathered three passes defended and 22 total tackles through 16 games played in what now could be his lone year in New Orleans. Despite that, one of the reasons this move comes as a surprise is that, after resigning with the team earlier this spring, he kept his head down and made plays in practice and the preseason.
Per NFL Network's Miek Garafolo, Burgess is a candidate for the Saints practice squad. It's a move that he'd be familiar with, as it was the same thing that ended up happening last year. They quickly called him up, however, and he ended up signing onto the main roster and playing in 16 of 17 games.
Heading into 2026, the Saints defensive backfield will be pretty youthful
Even if they add him to the practice squad, though, the release of Burgess indicates only one thing: a youth movement in the defensive backfield.
With the move, the oldest player in the defensive backfield is now 30-year-old cornerback Isaac Yiadom. However, his age doesn't make him an instant starter, and in fact, he's likely only to be used in a rotation as a depth piece. Players like Quincy Riley and Kool-Aid McKinstry, who are both still on their rookie contracts, will be the starters in that respect.
For the safeties, the Saints will also be relying on players still on their rookie deals. Jonas Sanker, Jayden Price, and Jordan Howden are all rounding out the rest of the room after Burgess' release. However, the few veteran defensive backs in New Orleans are actually the team's two starting safeties (Justin Reid and Julian Blackmon), so they at least won't be thrown into the deep end.
The younger group, even with whatever potential the staff sees in them, is going to up the anxiety a little bit. There's a drop in experience after the first couple of defensive backs, and that's something that could lead to mistakes. Thankfully, the experience will quickly be gained as the season goes on, but one has to hope there won't be any growing pains.
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