QBREES9

With one exhibition game remaining Thursday night, and the real games starting in 11 days, some members of the New Orleans Saints will be scrambling for roster spots this week.

As of Saturday, the roster stood at 76 players with one move needed to reach the limit of 75 by Tuesday. Thursday night is when some will play their way onto the 53-man roster.

While it’s often tricky to predict who’ll make it, it’s never easy for coach Sean Payton, either — especially when most of the team that won Super Bowl XLIV is back.

As any coach would tell you, that’s a nice dilemma to have. So here’s a guess at how it might shake out when the final cuts come down:

QUARTERBACKS (3): Drew Brees, Patrick Ramsey, Chase Daniel.
Payton has been known to keep just two, but Ramsey and Daniel have both looked good, and Daniel may not get through waivers.

RUNNING BACKS (5): Reggie Bush, Pierre Thomas, Chris Ivory, Ladell Betts, Heath Evans.
Ivory, a free agent, has made his case to join Bush and Thomas in the three-headed monster role, but they may have to keep Betts around for experience — if his knee is strong enough.

WIDE RECEIVERS (5): Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Robert Meachem, Lance Moore, Courtney Roby.
Based on special teams ability, Roby beats out Adrian Arrington for the fifth spot if the leg injury Roby suffered Friday isn’t serious.

TIGHT ENDS (3): Jeremy Shockey, David Thomas, Jimmy Graham.
Tory Humphrey might be on the bubble, but he’s had his moments in camp. They may have to keep four because of injury concerns.

OFFENSIVE LINE (9): Jermon Bushrod, Carl Nicks, Jonathan Goodwin, Jahri Evans, Jon Stinchcomb, Zach Strief, Nick Leckey, Charles Brown, Matt Tennant.
This position could be affected by injury as well after Strief left Friday’s game with a knee injury.

DEFENSIVE LINE (8): Alex Brown, Sedrick Ellis, Remi Ayodele, Will Smith, Anthony Hargrove, Jeff Charleston, Jimmy Wilkerson, DeMario Pressley.
Hargrove and Wilkerson give the Saints a little extra because they both play tackle and end. Bobby McCray and Al Woods may be the odd men out.

LINEBACKERS (7): Scott Shanle, Jonathan Vilma, Jonathan Casillas, Marvin Mitchell, Jo-Lonn Dunbar, Anthony Waters. There’s not much fat to trim here after releasing veteran Troy Evans last week.

DEFENSIVE BACKS (10): Jabari Greer, Roman Harper, Malcolm Jenkins, Tracy Porter, Randall Gay, Patrick Robinson, Usama Young, Chip Vaughn, Chris Reis, Leigh Torrence.
Darren Sharper may have to start the season on the physically-unable-to-perform list, which will sideline him for six games.

SPECIALISTS (3): Garrett Hartley, Thomas Morstead, Jason Kyle.
Since they had no competition in camp, they get in by default.

www.sportsshooter.com/johnjcoleman

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FireVenturi

May have to add Kendrick Clancy now and cut Preesly
I would add AA and take of Betts(we dont need him)

I would also cut Ramsey, he has perfomed decent but we always roll with just two QB's and add a 4th Tight End.

Nice job #9

SaintPauly

I'm sorry, I have been out of the loop for a while, but what about Stanley Arnoux? Has his preseason been that bad, that he hasn't been included on anyone's final 53?

strato

Yep

Rugby Saint II

You know that these guys on the bubble must be nervous. Will the league let players take Xanex?

st thomas

there's going to be 25 teams that look like piranha waiting to see who we cut.