It's a rarity, but it appears the Saints and the fans were in a lockstep on a personnel decision this week: WR Kenny Stills has been waived.
The veteran wide receiver who began his career with the Saints latched on with the team early in the year, working his way up from the practice squad into a regular role. Stills caught five passes for 64 yards and a touchdown while appearing in 10 games.
It was the non-catches that stood out, however, which was the case on his 17 other targets split between Jameis Winston, Trevor Siemian and Taysom Hill. Many incompletions came on reasonably difficult, but catchable balls.
Difficulties making contested catches have been a struggle point for the entire Saints WR corps, but Stills' have stood out. His most recent was also the most costly, coming late in the first half against the Cowboys, with Hill targeting Stills inside the 10-yard line. The ball ricocheted off the WR's hands with rookie Micah Parsons diving to haul in a momentum-swinging interception. The Saints failed to score, and the Cowboys drove for a field goal just ahead of halftime.
Both Hill and head coach Sean Payton spoke about the play after the game, expressing frustration due to the fact that the play was drawn up to target the specific defensive look they were facing. A well-executed plan became a turnover.
"I’ll be honest with you, we’ve got to catch that first interception," Payton said. "We’ve got to, it’s the perfect coverage look we get, you drop a ball, they make a good play on it. That’s unfortunate.”
Roster moves don't have a cause description, but the circumstances in the WR room make it notable they'd move on from a veteran. Michael Thomas had already been lost for the season, and Deonte Harris will miss the next three games with a suspension. It's possible there are signings to come, but the only players in the Saints' active WR room are Marquez Callaway, Lil'Jordan Humphrey, Ty Montgomery and Tre'Quan Smith.
The team could also potentially look to Kawaan Baker or rookie Easop Winston in the practice squad.
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