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7 Saints players in jeopardy for 2018

Moving past the NFL Draft, the next major roster shifts for the New Orleans Saints won’t occur until the massive cutdown day on Sept. 1 at the end of training camp.
Some minor tweaks will pop up here and there, like after next weekend’s rookie minicamp. But the vast majority of the offseason roster is in place for the Saints to begin molding the 2018 squad.

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The Saints aggressively navigated through free agency and the draft to improve the already talent-laden roster. This means a few difficult decisions could come not only for rookies, but also for some veteran players.
Let’s take a glimpse at seven Saints players in possible jeopardy of making the roster once Week 1 arrives in early September:

Brandon Coleman
The 6-foot-6, 220-pound wide receiver has been around the Saints program since 2014. And still, it seems like it’s year to year with Coleman as far as landing on the roster.
Coleman added a significant catch or two in several games in 2018 with 23 receptions for 364 yards and three touchdowns. The wheels fell off dramatically in Week 15, though, with two lost fumbles against the Jets.
New Orleans opted not to issue a restricted free agent tender to Coleman. The Saints eventually retained Coleman on a one-year deal worth a maximum of $1 million. This deal doesn’t guarantee Coleman’s spot on the roster.
The Saints added Bears restricted free agent Cameron Meredith essentially as Willie Snead’s replacement for actual guaranteed money. Then the team brought on Central Florida’s Tre’Quan Smith with its third-round pick a week ago.
The Saints know Coleman’s game backward and forward at this rate. Will it be enough for him to stick with the team for one more year?

Coby Fleener
He’s been atop the “players in jeopardy” list for months. Long before free agency and long before the draft. The veteran tight end certainly hasn’t lived up to expectations, but nearly every Saints fan probably understands that by now.
The Saints passed on drafting a tight end a week ago. A lack of a second-round pick hindered the team’s opportunity to pluck one of the top prospects. New Orleans did add Deon Yelder in undrafted free agency.
But Fleener’s future with the Saints squarely landed on the bubble when the team brought back Benjamin Watson after a two-year stint in Baltimore. Watson returns as the probable starter with veterans Josh Hill and Michael Hoomanawanui still on the roster.
All of this could leave Fleener searching for another team sooner than later.

Hau'oli Kikaha
The 2015 second-round pick always looked like a gamble given his injury history during college. That history followed Kikaha into the NFL, and he could be running out of time in New Orleans.
Kikaha is entering the final year of his contract after three years of injury-marred seasons. He added four sacks in 2017 before landing on injured reserve with an ankle injury. He missed the entire 2016 campaign with a torn ACL, his third of his college and NFL career (two on one knee).
New Orleans never wasted time picking up edge rush help the last two years. Alex Okafor, Trey Hendrickson, Al-Quadin Muhammad and George Johnson hopped on the roster. All four are back for 2018 … and the Saints only traded 13 spots in this year’s first round, including a 2019 first-round pick, to take Marcus Davenport at No. 13 overall.

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