Saints and Commanders nearing trade to fill important void after recent injury

The New Orleans Saints, along with the rest of the NFL, have dealt with quite the roster shuffle over the past couple of days. On Tuesday, New Orleans cut their active roster from 90 players to just 53.

On Wednesday, the Saints formed their practice squad and agreed to terms on a trade.

Saints trade for Commanders DT John Ridgeway III

New Orleans sent a 2025 6th-round pick to Washington in exchange for Ridgeway and a 2025 7th, according to Adam Schefter.

New Orleans' need for interior defensive line depth has increased over the past couple of weeks. Khalen Saunders, a potential starter, is dealing with a calf injury. It's possible that he misses some time to start the season.

Accordingly, there's a pipeline for Ridgeway to get snaps to begin the season. I'd expect Bryan Bresee to start with both Ridgeway and Nathan Shepherd getting work on the inside, too.

Commanders GM Adam Peters discussed the Ridgeway trade Wednesday afternoon. He said that Ridgeway put some of his best tape out this past weekend.

"There was a lot of interest in him.... good opportunity for him to go somewhere and play more probably than here and a scheme that fits him a little more."

Ridgeway has played in 32 games over his first two seasons. He's been durable and produced at times so far in his pro career, totaling 29 run stops and 12 pressures over his first two seasons. Some may call Ridgeway a "people mover" in the run game.

The third-year lineman can provide solid depth for a defense that needed it after the Saunders injury occurred. We will see how quickly he can get up to speed for New Orleans' unit before Week 1.

Related: Saints get incredibly lucky on waiver wire with young player who may be on the active roster by season's end