Why did the New Orleans Saints waive wide receiver A.T. Perry? LLast week, head coach Dennis Allen said it came down to a numbers game — injuries had piled up along the offensive line, and the team needed a roster spot, so they let Perry go to make room for Connor McGovern. That decision proved timely when McGovern got into their next game just days after arriving in New Orleans.
But why was Perry released as opposed to, say, another backup like running back Jordan Mims or tight end Dallin Holker? That may come down to their performances in practice every day, which is an area Perry had been found lacking.
Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak might have inadvertently shared some insight to that decision: “I haven’t met a lot of gamers. Usually, what people do in practice is what they do in games.”
He was speaking about Spencer Rattler’s consistency at practice giving the coaches enough confidence to start the rookie quarterback, but it’s easy to draw a connection between Kubiak’s comments and Perry’s play. The wideout caught just one pass out of the hundreds of throws Derek Carr made at training camp. Whether it’s due to lapses in concentration or struggling to pick up Kubiak’s playbook, Perry didn’t consistently perform from one day to the next. That kept him low on the depth chart beneath other players who were improving each week.
And now he’s in a new city learning a new system, or at least one more familiar to what he’s worked in before. It’s unlikely that Perry will be ready to play against the Saints next Thursday night when the Broncos come to town, but you never know. It would be just like Sean Payton to draw up a couple of plays for someone still smarting from being let go.
