It's rare to see a second-round pick not make it to the end of his rookie contract, but that's the reality for the New Orleans Saints and Isaiah Foskey.
Foskey was one of the team's early cuts on Tuesday. The move has not yet been announced by the team.
The No. 40 overall selection arrived to the Saints in 2023 with a major selling point being his high-end college production. He was the all-time sacks leader in Notre Dame history and was prolific on special teams. That was anything but the case for the Saints, rolling up 25 tackles and no QB hits over 27 games played.
Foskey was one of the leading snap-getters for the Saints in the preseason but simply didn't deliver, and he'll not hit the waiver wire. The league's other 31 teams will have a chance to claim Foskey and try to mine that potential. If not he could be a practice squad candidate.
Another member of the 2023 draft class, Jake Haener, joined Foskey on the cut line, per reports. The Saints traded up to get Haener in that class but there's been little clear sailing for him since that point. He had a six-game suspension to open his career due to testing positive for banned substances, then watched the Saints draft two QBs in Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough that ultimately pushed him down the depth chart. Saints head coach Kellen Moore insisted throughout the process that Haener was a legitimate piece of the QB competition, but he only saw a handful of days with the 1s and saw limited work in two preseason games.
Those moves mean the only players remaining on the roster from the 2023 draft class are first-round pick Bryan Bresee, 4th round selection Nick Saldiveri who is already on season-ending IR, and 5th round DB Jordan Howden, who is a potential cut candidate.
The Saints have to trim down to 53 by 3 p.m. on Tuesday. Waiver claims will be processed on Wednesday, at which point players can be signed to practice squads.
