Saints promote QB Ryan Griffin from practice squad
With Drew Brees under center, the New Orleans Saints do not need help from an undrafted free agent. But that doesn’t mean plenty of other teams don’t.
According to Pro Football Talk, via Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Saints have promoted quarterback Ryan Griffin from their practice squad to their 53-man roster.
Griffin, an undrafted rookie out of Tulane, played in 39 games for the Green Wave, passing for 9,026 yards and 79 touchdowns. His coach at Tulane, Curtis Johnson, was a former receivers coach for the Saints.
Since third-string quarterbacks don’t do much more than hold clipboards and take up roster spots, many teams have electing to only carry two on the active roster. Previously, the Saints had only been carrying two quarterbacks on the roster with Brees and backup Luke McCown. It is possible that coach Sean Payton, who has gone with inexperienced quarterbacks backing up Brees before, thinks that Griffin is a better option than McCown, However, it is more likely that the move was made to protect a Griffin from being poached of the practice squad by another quarterback-needy team.
Regardless of the reasoning, the Saints will now have to cut another player to make room for Ryan Griffin on the roster.