Linebacker Harry Coleman of LSU (pictured) is back with the Saints after the Saints re-signed him thanks to the freed up roster spot made by waiving injured running back Lynell Hamilton. I’m not 100% sure why the Saints didn’t just Hamilton on injured reserve, but my guess is they did it because this at least gives him an outside chance of playing this season if he can recover. He injured his knee early enough in the season, so who knows, maybe he’ll be healthy and ready to play by week 12 or something. I doubt it, because a torn ACL is a devastating injury, but you never know. Placing Hamilton on injured reserve would shelve him for the entire season. You’ll remember the Saints did something similar a couple years ago with Hollis Thomas. He was injured for about 8-10 weeks, so the Saints cut him instead of placing him on IR, only to bring him back to the team late in the season when he healed. It’s a good move for a role player because they’re less likely to get a long term investment from another team out there while injured. With a guy like Jammal Brown that trick would have never worked because his potential is so high, a team would be willing to give him a long term deal despite his injury. A guy like Lynell Hamilton is more under the radar, so the Saints are making a calculated risk. It will be interesting to see if Harry Coleman can make a run at a roster spot, though I think he’s an extreme long shot. He’s going to have to play out of his mind in preseason to have any chance.
In other news, Jeff Duncan reported today that Jonathan Casillas has vaulted into the starting lineup alongside Scott Shanle and Jonathan Vilma at linebacker. Based on his play in the last game, I think he’s the favorite to earn a starting spot come the season opener at linebacker at this point. Don’t rule out Jo-Lonn Dunbar just yet, though, because there’s a long way to go.
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