Saints Call Up Two Players For Duel With Cowboys

Saints announce two practice squad elevations in advance of Sunday's game at the Cowboys.

New Orleans Saints safety Ugo Amadi (0) / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Saints are elevating two players from the practice squad for Sunday's game against the Dallas Cowboys. In a team report on Saturday, the Saints announced that safety Ugo Amadi and linebacker Isaiah Stalbird will be standard elevations to the active roster for Sunday's game.

Amadi, 27, is in his second season with the Saints. He was originally a fourth-round choice in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Oregon by the Seattle Seahawks. After three years with the Seahawks and 2022 with the Chiefs and Titans, he was signed by New Orleans last offseason.

Amadi would appear in all 17 contests for the Saints in 2023. Mostly a special teams contributor, he'd appear in 83 defensive snaps as a safety or nickel back. He'd total 12 tackles and broke up two passes and allowed 41.7% completion percentage on 12 targets in coverage.

New Orleans Saints safety Ugo Amadi (0) returns a ball against the Los Angeles Chargers / Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

Stalbird is an undrafted rookie out of South Dakota State. A safety in college, he'd convert to linebacker once joining the Saints. He had a strong start to training camp after an impressive mini-camp, putting him in the middle of a close competition at a deep linebacker position.

Injury limited Stalbird down the stretch of training camp. However, his early camp performances impressed New Orleans coaches enough to add him back to the practice squad after his release on August 27.

Neither Amadi or Stalbird were active for the Saints' Week 1 victory over the Carolina Panthers. This will be Stalbird's first official NFL game appearance.

New Orleans started their 2024-25 season with a 47-10 rout of Carolina. Dallas is also 1-0 after an equally impressive 33-17 road win over the Cleveland Browns. Kickoff will be at noon, Central Time, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.