Saints release LB Jaylon Smith, but fans shouldn’t say goodbye just yet

This won’t make many New Orleans Saints fans happy, but don’t go picking up the torches and pitchforks just yet. NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill reports that the Saints are releasing veteran linebacker Jaylon Smith, a late pickup in training camp who played really well for them in practice and at their preseason games.

But there’s a catch. Because Smith was been released, not waived, he won’t hit the waiver wire like many other players being let go at the roster cuts deadline. He’s free to choose his next team — or return to New Orleans. The Saints could have a handshake agreement in place to release him on Tuesday so they can place an injured player like Tre’Quan Smith, Landon Young, or Ryan Connelly on injured reserve on Wednesday, at which point they could re-sign Smith.

Maybe. They could also be looking to stash Smith on their practice squad at a significantly lower cost. It’s also possible he’ll choose to pursue other NFL opportunities at this point. We’ll just have to wait and see. But it feels like a safe bet that he’ll be on the roster when they kick off the season with the Tennessee Titans in a few weeks.

Story originally appeared on Saints Wire