The New Orleans Saints surprised many of their fans this week by waiving wide receiver A.T. Perry, last year’s sixth-round draft pick out of Wake Forest. Head coach Dennis Allen was asked about the decision during his regular press conference ahead of Monday night’s road game with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Allen says it was a combination of Perry’s underwhelming fit in the offense and the need for greater depth at other positions that forced their hand. Perry dealt with some minor injuries but was inactive for each of their first four games this season, and injuries had piled up along the offensive line.
“Probably the biggest thing that went into the decision, in terms of healthy inactives and guys we could create a spot with, we signed the offensive lineman (Connor McGovern, from the New York Jets practice squad). That’s really what that boiled down to,” Allen said Saturday.
When pressed, Allen continued: “Sometimes you make some moves because it’s roster management moves. I still think he’s got some ability. So we’ll see what happens, he’ll have to go through the waiver claim, which happens on Monday, and then we’ll go from there.”
Allen added that the Saints would “absolutely” like to re-sign Perry to the practice squad if he clears waivers, so there’s a chance we haven’t seen the last of him just yet. How strong those odds are depends on how the same teams that passed on Perry in the draft last year feel about him now. Everyone needs receivers, and there aren’t many players his size who move as smoothly as he does. He should garner some attention on the waiver wire.
