Dwayne Washington promised fans he wasn't going anywhere despite being released Wednesday evening, and it didn't take long for the running back to make good on that promise.
Washington, a key special teams contributor, was re-signed to the 53-man roster with two young players reverting to injured reserve and leaving a pair of vacancies available to fill.
Those players headed to IR are rookie OT Trevor Penning and third-year DT Malcolm Roach, both of whom suffered injuries in the preseason finale against the L.A. Chargers. It's a disappointing result for both players who had come on strong in camp and were looking to potentially make an early-season impact, even if not on the starting line.
The important factor in the move is that since both players were kept on the initial 53-man roster, they will be eligible to return as early as Week 5 against the Seattle Seahawks. The NFL's IR rules in 2022 stipulate that teams can bring as many as eight players back from the list throughout the year.
Penning's injury is a significant case of turf toe that resulted in a torn ligament and required surgery to fix. The timeline of his return is unclear, though the decision not to place him on IR before the start of the season indicates the team does not believe his injury to be season-ending.
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The team made one additional move in signing OL Drew Desjarlais to the practice squad. Desjarlais was a Canadian Football League standout who spent training camp with the New England Patriots before being included in their final round of cuts. He'll wear No. 61. Also arriving in town is OL Tanner Owen, claimed off waivers from the Buffalo Bills. It's unclear where Owen will be deployed, having worked at all four line spots in camp with the Bills, but he played guard during the preseason with Buffalo. He'll wear No. 79.
That waiver claim was what necessitated Washington's brief departure, as an open spot on the 53 is necessary for such a claim to go through.
Thursday's moves leave the current Saints roster at 52 players, meaning an additional signing could be made in the coming days.
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