The New Orleans Saints elevated two experienced defensive backs for Week 5’s game with the New England Patriots, bringing up safeties Johnathan Abram and Daniel Sorensen from the practice squad. They’ll be without backup safety Lonnie Johnson (one of their core special teams players) as well as starting free safety Marcus Maye, who is serving the final week of his three-game suspension.
Abram cannot be elevated for any more games this season; if the Saints want to continue playing him, they’ll have to sign him to the 53-man roster. He totaled 56 snaps on defense last Sunday. This is the first of three game-week elevations for Sorensen, who only recently re-signed with the Saints practice squad.
But there’s some good news. Rookie safety Jordan Howden is expected to return to the lineup after missing last week’s game, having returned to practice following surgery on his injured finger. He played well in his first career start against the Green Bay Packers in Week 3 and should continue to earn more snaps during Maye’s absence. But having a pair of players with Abram and Sorensen’s experience waiting in the wings is a nice insurance policy to maintain.
