Veteran Kendrick Clancy is back with the Saints just 2 years removed from being a full season starter in 2008. Clancy played two games for the Saints last year, as well, before being placed on IR. Evidently the Saints weren’t thrilled with what they saw with their interior run defense the last 3 preseason games, because Clancy excels in that department. I have to assume he’s relatively healthy if they are electing to bring him on board. Still, I have to guess he’s a pretty big question mark to make the team. With the lack of game action Al Woods has been getting, I’m starting to wonder if the Saints will give him a spot on the final 53. Ditto for DeMario Pressley, who’s spot with the team is all of a sudden in serious question.
Below are the defensive lineman currently on the Saints’ roster:
| 96 | Brown, Alex | DE | 6-3 | 260 | 31 | 9 | Florida |
| 97 | Charleston, Jeff | DE | 6-4 | 265 | 27 | 4 | Idaho State |
| 67 | Galette, Junior | DE | 6-2 | 258 | 22 | R | Stillman |
| 93 | McCray, Bobby | DE | 6-6 | 260 | 29 | 7 | Florida |
| 91 | Smith, Will | DE | 6-3 | 282 | 29 | 7 | Ohio State |
| 69 | Hargrove, Anthony | DL | 6-3 | 272 | 27 | 6 | Georgia Tech |
| 99 | Wilkerson, Jimmy | DL | 6-2 | 270 | 29 | 8 | Oklahoma |
| 92 | Ayodele, Remi | DT | 6-2 | 318 | 27 | 4 | Oklahoma |
| 98 | Ellis, Sedrick | DT | 6-1 | 307 | 25 | 3 | Southern California |
| 90 | Pressley, DeMario | DT | 6-3 | 301 | 24 | 3 | North Carolina State |
| 68 | Ross, Jay | DT | 6-3 | 302 | 22 | R | East Carolina |
| 94 | Woods, Al | DT | 6-4 | 307 | 23 | R | Louisiana State |
The only thing I’m sure of at this point is that Will Smith, Sedrick Ellis and Alex Brown are all locks. The Saints kept 8 defensive lineman on their opening day roster last year, so if you include Clancy, that leaves 5 roster spots for 10 players. I figure Junior Galette is destined for the practice squad, and Jay Ross is toast. So that leaves 8 players for 5 spots. I think Hargrove is pretty safe, so say it’s 4 spots for 7 players. That leaves, Charleston, McCray, Wilkerson, Ayodele, Pressley, Woods and Clancy to battle out for those open places. I think Wilkerson has looked good, and I think Ayodele is a starter, so those two probably stick. Ultimately Woods and McCray may be the other two that stay, with Clancy, Charleston, and Pressley released. That’s all speculation, though. I’m saying Pressley is cut because the guy has failed to make the opening day roster in two straight seasons. I think the recent Clancy signing is just meant to light a fire under the youngsters and I think Charleston gets caught in a numbers game. But who knows for sure? It’s all a guessing game until this time next week. Ayodele, McCray, Wilkerson and Woods could all be surprise cuts. I’m honestly really curious at this point how it will play out.
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