No teams in the NFL divisional round rostered more former New Orleans Saints players than the Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles, who have each progressed further to the AFC and NFC championship games, respectively. Cincinnati will visit the Kansas City Chiefs (who have a pair of former Saints of their own) while Philadelphia hosts the San Francisco 49ers (with three former Saints players in their lineup).
Why were so many former Saints players suiting up in playoff games this weekend? It’s actually not that unusual — the Carolina Panthers had the same number of former players on playoff rosters around the league, for example. So many players enter and exit practice squads these days that it’s almost inevitable to find familiar names in unexpected places.
