The Saints have signed 26-year old RB DeShawn Wynn.  Wynn played in 4 games for the Packers last season in which he carried the ball 6 times for 19 yards (3.2 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 19 yards (9.5 avg).  Wynn has now played in 16 games (4 starts) in his three years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 64 times for 332 yards (5.2 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  He has also caught 14 passes for 122 yards (8.7 avg) thus far in his career.  Wynn is a talented back when he’s healthy which hasn’t been too often in his NFL career.  Still taking a chance on a talented back like Wynn is not much of a gamble for the Saints.

The Saints have put 23-year old RB P.J. Hill on the Injured Reserve List ending his season due to a leg injury.  Hill played in both pre-season games for the Saints and he carried the ball 15 times for 62 yards (4.1 ypc).  He also caught 4 passes for 23 yards (5.8 avg) for the Saints during the pre-season.  Hill was playing good enough to be considered for the opening roster for the Saints if he didn’t get hurt.  At worst, he would have been stuck on the practice squad.

The Saints have signed 30-year old RB Ladell Betts to a 1-year, $805,000 dollar deal.  Betts played in 10 games (2 starts) for the Redskins last season in which he carried the ball 56 times for 210 yards (3.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he also caught 17 passes for 179 yards (10.5 avg).  Betts has now played in 103 games (13 starts) in his 8 years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 776 times for 3,176 yards (4.1 ypc) with 13 TD runs.  He has also caught 165 passes for 1,505 yards (9.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  This was a great signing for the Saints as Betts gives them a solid #3 back behind Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush.

The Saints have released Larry Beavers who was one of the stars of the first pre-season game against the Patriots.  Beavers returned 2 punts for 2 yards (1.0 avg) but he also returned 2 kickoffs for 125 yards (62.5 avg) including one that was good for a 97-yard TD.  The thing that hurt Beavers in the Saints’ eyes is that the undrafted rookie was a return man only as he wasn’t good enough to help the team in the passing game.  So with that in mind the Saints decided to let the rookie WR go.

The Saints have lost 25-year old RB Lynell Hamilton for the season as he tore his ACL in today’s practice.  Hamilton played in 9 games (1 start) for the Saints last season and he carried the ball 35 times for 125 yards (3.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 5 passes for 48 yards (9.6 avg) last year.  Hamilton was the Saints’ #3 RB coming into this season so he will be missed.  P.J. Hill and undrafted rookie Chris Ivory out of Tiffin will battle for Hamilton’s spot on the depth chart.  The Saints had better pray that Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush stay healthy the whole 2010 season.