The Saints trimmed the roster down to 53 names on Tuesday, but one of the more surprising moves came the following afternoon.
That came in the release of longtime running back and special teams standout Dwayne Washington, according to reports.
The move was most likely made to make space for incoming OT Tanner Owen, whom the Saints claimed off waivers from the Buffalo Bills earlier in the day. It's possible the Saints released Washington with the intention of bringing him back, similar to what they did with fullback Alex Armah and kicker Aldrick Rosas last season.
Either way it was a surprising move, considering Washington is one of the elder statesmen of the roster and has been a key contributor on special teams in recent seasons. While used minimally in the run game, Washington had made the initial roster each of the past five seasons due primarily to his special teams work. He said earlier this offseason that he was as confident as he's ever been and had been working more as a running back. That manifested into a touchdown on a screen pass from Andy Dalton in the preseason opener.
But Washington's preseason was affected the rest of the way by an injury he appeared to suffer in the first joint practice with the Packers, and he had not appeared at practice or in either of the preseason games since.
The Saints running back room is now down to three players in Alvin Kamara, Mark Ingram and Tony Jones Jr., with Adam Prentice also making the roster at fullback.
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