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Jay Richardson had not made an NFL roster since 2010, so he began selling insurance in Ohio.

He shouldn’t sell another policy any time soon, though — he needs to be a member of the New Orleans Saints come Week 1.

After knee injuries ended outside linebacker Will Smith’s season and possibly did the same to outside linebacker Victor Butler, the Saints apparently are poised to replace them with Martez Wilson (the third-round pick in 2011 with four career sacks and a fumble recovery) and Junior Galette (who has tallied 9.5 sacks and is in his fourth year with the team).

The problem is neither played in any of the Saints’ four exhibitions this preseason. Wilson has been dealing with an elbow injury, and Galette has had a leg problem. It’s asking a lot to expect both of them to face the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South showdown to open the regular season Sept. 8 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome without some good help waiting in the shadows.

The Saints knew that and made a trade with the San Francisco 49ers for veteran outside linebacker Parys Haralson, who has 21.5 sacks in six seasons. But that didn’t happen until Monday, and Haralson sat out Thursday’s 24-21 loss in the preseason finale at Miami.

Enter Richardson. After spending his first three years in the league with the Oakland Raiders and part of a fourth in Seattle, he washed out following 2010. The former Ohio State player obtained a license to sell insurance before reporting to camp with the Saints this preseason as a defensive end. He moved to outside linebacker amid the injuries at the position.

Richardson, who spent two years playing for Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan in Oakland, went into Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., on Thursday hoping the bubble he was riding didn’t pop. It certainly didn’t seem that it would.

Read more: Vargas: The Saints

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Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.

All little common sense goes a long way.