The New Orleans Saints are officially through with mandatory 2026 minicamp and continue to make their final preparations before the official start of offseason training camp. After finishing last in the NFC South with a 6-11 record, head coach Kellen Moore and the entirety of the Saints' fan base will be looking forward to restoring prominence to a team that's been used to Super Bowl aspirations over the last two decades.
Selecting eighth overall in the recent NFL Draft, the Saints selected WR Jordyn Tyson out of Arizona State to highlight their growing receiving corps. The Saints also selected Georgia TE Oscar Delp (RD3, PK73), North Dakota State WR Bryce Lance (RD4, PK136), and LSU WR Barion Brown (RD6, PK190), a clear indication that they're putting a ton of stock into re-vamping this offense and improving their production from last season.
The most important positional battle may be at quarterback between former starters Tyler Shough and Spencer Rattler while fans are most concerned about the changes at cornerback and improving the secondary. Either way, the Saints' coaching staff and front office will have some difficult cuts to make from the offseason roster as the team looks forward to training camp.
As a result, players like quarterback Zach Wilson and running back Ty Chandler may be in danger of losing their roster spots after a number of developments throughout 2026 minicamp.
While many fans were curious to see how the impending quarterback battle would shake-out, it seems as though last year's starter Tyler Shough has emerged as the likely QB1 over third-year Spencer Rattler. The Saints went 5-5 in games Tyler Shough appeared in throughout last season while Rattler forced a 2-7 record. Still, they're the two best signal callers on the roster ahead of QB Zach Wilson and rookie Hunter Dekkers out of Iowa Western.
Assuming the Saints are likely to only roster three quarterbacks, Zach Wilson is at greatest risk of getting cut here. His time as a New York Jet and starting 33 total games far outweighs the current experience in the Saints' quarterback room, but it's clear this starting job has come down to two players in Shough and Rattler. Furthermore, rookie Hunter Dekkers seems like a prime candidate to sign with the practice squad as Wilson should be the odd man left out and likely looking for a roster spot elsewhere during the season.
After years of consistency from All-Pro running back Alvin Kamara, the RB position for the New Orleans Saints could look a tad different moving forward thanks to the recent acquisition of Travis Etienne Jr. from the Jacksonville Jaguars. As it stands, Etienne is first on the RB depth chart followed by Kamara, Devin Neal, and Kendre Miller. This leaves Kennesaw State rookie RB CJ Donaldson and former Minnesota Viking Ty Chandler in a grey area in an already crowded room of competitive ball carriers.
While CJ Donaldson could be a prime candidate to make the practice squad, Ty Chandler was recently signed to the veteran minimum contract heading into this season. If the Saints were to let him go, they would virtually have zero “dead” money on their cap and could use that to sign a free agent during the season pending any injuries at differing positions.
While Chandler has proved his worth both as a speedy back and one that can make catches out of the backfield, it seems as though Etienne Jr., Kamara, Neal, and Miller cover all bases for different looks from the backfield. They are all capable receivers and share similar pace in terms of their running styles, so keeping another speedy back like Chandler on the roster would be virtually unnecessary for them.
