The Saints’ plans for Ja’Lynn Polk hit a dead end Sunday, when the team placed the 24-year-old receiver on the reserve/retired list.
That move means Polk is done playing, and New Orleans never got the chance to see how he might have looked in camp after drawing interest inside the building going into training camp. The reason for his decision has not been disclosed.
Polk arrived in New Orleans with some buzz around his upside. The Saints liked him coming out of the draft and picked him up from the Patriots last fall in a late-round pick swap, betting on a rebound after a rough start to his NFL career.
His rookie year in New England was tough from the start. The former second-round pick from Washington caught only 12 of 33 targets for 87 yards in 2024, and a shoulder injury later ended his season before the 2025 campaign even got underway.
Inside the Saints’ building, though, Polk had started to win over some people with the work he put in this offseason. He also sounded eager to leave his Patriots stint behind and make good on the fresh opportunity.
“I feel like I’m supposed to be here,” Polk said earlier this summer. “For them … bringing me in here and having that trust of seeing the player I’m capable of being, it speaks a lot. I just want to go out there each and every day and show them they made the right decision of bringing me in here.”
Polk had been away from the last two days of camp for what the Saints described as an excused absence for personal reasons before Sunday’s roster move.
He was expected to play a significant role in a rebuilt Saints receiving group this season. Polk was one of three wideouts New Orleans brought in shortly before last season, along with Devaughn Vele and Trey Palmer. Then the team added three more receivers in the 2026 NFL draft, including No. 8 overall pick Jordyn Tyson.
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