The New Orleans Saints have one preseason game left, a Friday trip to Dallas to close out their 2026 exhibition slate, and the final tune-up comes after a joint practice week that turned chippy fast and drew heavy league fines. The Cowboys may be waiting on the other side, but for a few Saints, the real fight already looks decided.
A handful of players entered camp hanging around the roster bubble. Now, after weeks of work and two preseason games, three of them have made their case so loudly that they look safe heading into cutdown time: Bub Means, Jayden Price and Jaylan Ford.
Means was easy to overlook when camp opened. He had shown some promise as a rookie in 2024, but a rough start to 2025 training camp ended with a season-ending injured reserve stint because of an ankle injury.
Then New Orleans spent three draft picks on wide receivers, which only pushed him further into the background. Instead of fading, Means came out and kept making plays at every level of the field.
He led the Saints in the preseason opener against Jacksonville with 4 catches for 77 yards, then followed that with 1 catch on 4 targets against the Rams. Even with that quieter showing in the second game, his practice work has stayed strong.
Whether New Orleans keeps five or six receivers, Means looks like one of them.
Price has turned a chance into momentum. With the Saints trying to replace the free agency departure of Alontae Taylor, the secondary opened the door for young backups, and Price walked right through it.
He has been one of the most reliable performers in camp, showing up both inside and outside, though his fit appears to be more in the slot, much like Taylor’s role. He backed that up against Jacksonville with an interception and solid coverage snaps.
Price, a former UFL standout, barely missed the active roster in 2025. This time, it doesn’t look like he’ll be the odd man out.
Then there’s Ford, who may have made the biggest leap of anyone in camp. New Orleans had questions at linebacker coming in, both with the starters and the depth behind them.
Isaiah Stalbird has earned more reps, but he also flashed last season. Ford, though, has been the surprise.
The 2024 fifth-round pick from Texas had done little on defense across his first two seasons, even if he was useful on special teams. He came into camp looking like a long shot, and now he’s stacked up 13 tackles through two preseason games, plus an interception.
He has also been sharp in practices, showing active coverage, quick reads and decisive movement. His rise was strong enough to help push the Saints into trading veteran Deion Jones just two weeks after signing him.
At this point, it would be a major surprise if Ford is not on the final roster. The same goes for Means and Price. What started as a battle to survive camp has turned into something else entirely: three Saints who have gone from roster bubble players to roster locks.
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Kellen Moore Sounds Just Like Saints Fans On This Strange LSU Move
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Kellen Moores reaction sounded a lot like the one plenty of Saints fans probably had when the news surfaced, because the whole path raises questions about how these decisions are handled and how much regulation really exists around them. For New Orleans, it is another reminder that roster-building and player movement are not always clean, linear processes, especially when a young players career can veer back toward college after already entering the NFL orbit. [Read more 🡒]
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Saints Backup Quarterback Battle Suddenly Looks Far More Troubling
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For a team already sorting out its depth chart, the bigger concern was how little clarity came out of the backup quarterback competition. The Saints still have work to do there, and after a game like this, the battle behind the starter looks less like a position fight and more like a problem that is not close to being solved. [Read more 🡒]