Saints' Shocker: New Orleans Moves On From WR A.T. Perry, per Reports

In a surprise move, New Orleans waives a promising offensive weapon.

New Orleans Saints receiver A.T. Perry (17) catches a touchdown pass over Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. (7) / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Saints have waived WR A.T. Perry on Friday. This was first reported by Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football and confirmed by John Hendrix of the Saints News Network.

''He (Perry) was dealing with a hamstring injury after recovering from a hand injury that he suffered in practice on a fluke play," per John Hendrix of Saints News Network.

Perry, who turns 24 later this month, was a sixth-round choice by the Saints in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Wake Forest. Over his last two collegiate seasons with the Demon Deacons, Perry had 152 receptions for 2,389 yards and 26 touchdowns.

After easily making the squad as a rookie despite his Day 3 draft status, Perry steadily moved up the team's depth chart. He didn't play at all in the first seven games of the Saints season in 2023, then saw just 24 combined snaps in Weeks 8 and 9.

Perry caught his first NFL pass during a Week 10 loss to the Vikings. In that game, he had two receptions for 38 yards that included an impressive contested touchdown grab. He'd carve out a more prominent role in the offense over the last eight games of the season.

New Orleans Saints wide receiver A.T. Perry (17) catchers a pass against the Carolina Panthers / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Perry finished his rookie year with 12 receptions for 246 yards and four scores. He accomplished that over just eight games of action. Entering 2024, it was thought that he'd likely be the third receiver behind Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed.

A.T. Perry led the NFL in receiving during the preseason. However, his practice performances were described as inconsistent. He also popped up on the injury report heading into the season opener. It was a harbinger of things to come.

Perry missed the first three games with a hand injury. He'd then miss last week's loss to Atlanta with a hamstring injury before his release on Friday.

The move was still a bit of a surprise. Aside from Olave and Shaheed, no other pass catcher on the roster has provided any kind of receiving threat through the first four games.

Olave and Shaheed have combined for 35 receptions for 517 yards. Those two and RB Alvin Kamara have a combined 69 targets. No other player on the New Orleans roster has more than six targets.

Wide receivers Mason Tipton, Cedrick Wilson, and Bub Means have a collective five catches on seven targets for 26 yards. The tight ends have been no better, with Juwan Johnson and Foster Moreau pulling in nine of only 12 targets for 89 yards.

New Orleans is now 2-2 after winning their first two games. They'll next head to Kansas City to face the 4-0 Chiefs on Monday Night Football.