Saints Surprising Roster Cuts…and Not so Surprising
When a player comes on board to our favorite team, rookie or veteran, we tend to think that they’re going to be there for the rest of their careers, especially if they continuously play at both an elite and high level for a long time. Sometimes they might have a bump in the road and you don’t hear anything about it or the player. The season ends and free agency comes around followed by the draft and OTA’s. One day you wake up and find that your favorite player was cut from the roster. You think “it’s football, it can’t happen” but I’m here to tell you it can, as well as other sports.
Malik Flowers
If explosiveness were a person, it’d be Montana wide receiver Malik Flowers. He had a nose for the endzone, especially as a kick returner. Flowers was one of the top names in the 2023 NFL Draft but shockingly did not get drafted. He was signed by the Saints as an undrafted free agent at the beginning of May.
Former University of Montana WR Malik Flowers (19) – Tom Bauer/Missoulian
During his tenure at Montana from 2018-2022, he put up near astronomical numbers. In a grand total of 52 games, he had 92 kickoffs for a total of 2,659 yards (Big-Sky conference record) and seven touchdowns. As a wide receiver. his numbers were equally as impressive. He racked up 51 catches for 716 yards and four touchdowns. Whether this is a temporary or permanent roster cut, it definitely wouldn’t make much sense at all.
Jake Luton
Though as not as much of a surprise, the Saints can use some quarterback assistance behind Derek Carr. The teams current quarterback room contains Jameis Winston and newly drafted Jake Haener out of Fresno State. Luton spent the 2020 season riding the pine as a third string quarterback for the Jaguars.
Former Jaguars QB Jake Luton (6) – Reinhold Matay/USA Today Sports
His statistics with the team were an eyesore, with a total of 624 yards, two touchdowns and six interceptions, equating to an abysmal 32.9% quarterback rating. The reason I have Luton on this list at all is due to the fact he could’ve potentially have had more success and potentially better leadership with the Saints.
Derrick Gore
Though he may not be related to future Hall of Fame running back Frank Gore, Derrick Gore has had a bit of success. During his brief stint with the Chiefs, he was an elusive running back and having Patrick Mahomes under center certainly helped out a lot too. He was signed to the Saints practice squad in November 2022 but saw no action at all from that point on.
Former Chiefs RB Derrick Gore (40) – Charlie Riedel/AP Photos
He was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Chargers in 2019 but didn’t have any playing time until he went to the Chiefs in 2021 where he padded his statistics. In 2021, Gore managed to collect 361 scrimmage yards on 59 touches, followed by only two touchdowns. To me, this is a bit of a surprising trade due to the fact that he could’ve fit right in with the Saints backfield in Alvin Kamara and Jamaal Williams, along with the possible retirement of Mark Ingram II.
NOTE: One thing I’d like to mention that I may have stated in this article is that teams tend to cut players and then re-sign them. I’m not saying that this will necessarily be the case for any of these three players but if any of them do get re-signed, it’s not at all unexpected or uncommon. Some players are constantly cut and re-signed by a team.
