Ex-Texas football WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey makes Saints practice squad

Former breakthrough Texas football wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey both was waived by the Saints and made their practice squad this weekend.

More than five former Texas football players got woes over the weekend that they would be released from their current NFL team during this latest round of roster cuts, down to 53. And one of those that was cut this weekend, that was actually somewhat surprising, was the former Texas standout wide receiver and New Orleans Saints second-year undrafted free agent Lil’Jordan Humphrey.

After being one of their bigger undrafted free agent signings last offseason, Humphrey actually had some decent showings in the preseason. He also got to play in five games last season, with most of his snaps coming on special teams. Nonetheless, he looked like he was going to be one of their more underrated contributors among the former undrafted free agents on the roster.

But shortly after being waived by the Saints this weekend, he was announced to be one of the 14 practice squad additions on Sep. 6. The official team release for the Saints including those 14 players that made the practice squad came on Sunday afternoon.

Humphrey was one of the more notable players on the practice squad for the Saints ahead of their opening week. Other notable names on the practice squad among the 14 players were former Penn State/Mississippi State quarterback/tight end Tommy Stevens, Michigan State linebacker Joe Bachie, Penn State/Oregon wide receiver Juwan Johnson, Notre Dame running back Tony Jones Jr., and SMU defensive lineman Margus Hunt.

Here’s what the official team release from the Saints this weekend had to say about Humphrey on their practice squad.

"Humphrey, 6-4, 225, originally signed with Orleans as an undrafted free agent 2019 out of Texas, making four grabs for 103 yards and one touchdown in the 2019 preseason. He played in five regular season games with one start and one postseason contest as a rookie in 2019. In three seasons for the Longhorns, he played in 36 games with 18 starts and finished his college career with 125 catches for 1,622 yards and ten touchdowns."

The last two 1,000-yard receivers for the Longhorns were Humphrey and current Baltimore Ravens rookie wideout Devin Duvernay. Humphrey registered more than 1,200 total yards from scrimmage and 10 total touchdowns during his junior season with Texas, which was also his last in college before declaring one year early for the 2019 NFL Draft.

Moreover, Humphrey was one of a couple of former Longhorns that were both cut and retained on a practice squad this weekend. A few of the others included Denver Broncos defensive back P.J. Locke III and Cleveland Browns quarterback Garrett Gilbert.

This might be the opportunity that Humphrey gets to make that final push to make the Saints roster for good moving forward. The Saints also have a few former Longhorns now either on the 53-man roster, or the practice squad.