Saints pare roster down to 53

The New Orleans Saints made the following roster moves Saturday, Aug. 31 to reach the National Football League-mandated reduction to 53 players, it was announced by Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis.

For the current Saints roster, click here.

The Saints terminated the contracts of the following five players:

Name Position Height Weight Age Exp. College

*Chris Banjo *S 5-10 207 29 6 Southern Methodist

*Michael Burton *FB 6-0 240 27 5 Rutgers

*Ziggy Hood * DT 6-3 305 32 11 Missouri

*Michael Ola *T 6-5312 31 6 Hampton

*Sylvester Williams *DL 6-2 328 30 7 North Carolina

The Saints have waived the following 10 players:

Name Position Height Weight Age Exp. College

*Dan Arnold *TE 6-6 220 24 3 Wisconsin-Platteville

*Emmanuel Butler *WR 6-4 220 23 R Northern Arizona

*T.J. Green *DB 6-3 215 24 3 Clemson

*Porter Gustin *LB 6-5 260 22 R Southern California

*Marcus Henry *C 6-3 293 26 1 Boise State

*Lil’Jordan Humphrey *WR 6-4 225 21 R Texas

*Derrick Kelly II *OL 6-5 320 24 R Florida State

*Alize’ Mack *TE 6-5 247 22 R Notre Dame

*Devine Ozigbo *DL 6-0 225 22 R Nebraska

*Terrell Williams Jr. *DB 6-4 212 23 1 Houston

The Saints placed the following player on reserve/retired:

Name Position Height Weight Age Exp. College

*Jermon Bushrod *T 6-5 315 35 13 Towson

The Saints placed the following three players on Injured Reserve:

Name Position Height Weight Age Exp. College

*Marshall Newhouse *T/G 6-4 330 30 10 Texas Christian

*Marcus Sherels *CB/PR 5-10 175 31 9 Minnesota

*Cameron Tom *C/G 6-4 300 24 3 Southern Mississippi

The following player was placed on Reserve/Suspended By Commissioner:

Name Position Height Weight Age Exp. College

*David Onyemata *DT 6-4 300 26 4 Manitoba

The following player has been reinstated Exempt/Commissioner Permission:

Name Position Height Weight Age Exp. College

*Carl Granderson *DE 6-5 261 22 R Wyoming

Beginning Sunday, the Saints and all 32 NFL teams may establish a practice squad of up to 10 players. The Saints will open the regular season Monday, September 9 when they play the Houston Texans at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome at 6:10 pm CT.