The New Orleans Saints made some roster changes Wednesday, July 18, choosing to waive running back Daniel Lasco in order to clear a roster spot to sign Shane Vereen, formerly of the New England Patriots and New York Giants.
Saints are signing former Pats and Giants RB Shane Vereen, source says.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) July 18, 2018
New Orleans Saints Waive Daniel Lasco, Sign Shane Vereen
The Saints drafted Lasco in the seventh round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Although listed as a running back, he has spent most of his time on punt and kickoff special teams. Lasco played in only part of last season. The Saints placed Lasco on the injured reserve list after a hard collision during a kick return against the Buffalo Bills. He spent the rest of the year on the injured reserve list.
The team made the decision to waive Lasco, designating that he had failed to pass his physical assessment. Upon confirmation, they opted to pick up 28-year-old Vereen.
Vereen spent four seasons with the Patriots, and three with the Giants. So far in his career, he has rushed for a total of 1,489 yards in 356 attempts, with eight touchdowns. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo first reported the news of the signing in the late stages of the morning Wednesday.
The Saints will be making due without Pro Bowl running back Mark Ingram for the first four regular-season games after the league suspended him for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing substance policy. Earlier this off-season, Ingram was recently named the 43rd overall NFL player in the NFL Network’s annual Top 100 list. The team also signed former Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens running back Terrance West earlier in the off-season. However, there could be a use for both players, as they have vastly different styles of play. West is a bruising running back, capable of gaining yards in late down scenarios.
Where West fits well for the current Saints scheme in one form, Vereen slides into the offense in a different way. He is capable of both running the ball and catching passes. This is a trait the Saints coaching staff love in their backs. Vereen will be competing for a roster spot after he rushed 45 times. On those rushes, he gained 164 yards. Vereen also caught 44 passes for another 253 yards.
The Saints running back corps now includes Ingram, Kamara, Vereen, West, sixth-round selection Boston Scott, Jonathon Williams, whom the Saints signed off of the Denver Broncos practice squad last year, and second-year undrafted free agent Trey Edmunds.
