| Good morning, and welcome to the Saints Insider Newsletter for Thursday, August 31. Let's all just bask in the glory that, a week from today, a real, live NFL football game will take place. Ahhh, yeah, that's the good stuff. Here's what's going on over at 5800 Airline Drive. 16 more make the cut (kind of)Hundreds of NFL players found out Tuesday afternoon that they'd lost their jobs, but hundreds more learned Wednesday that they'd have a spot waiting in the wings. The Saints filled out their 16-man practice squad Wednesday. As a reminder, the rosters at this time of year especially are fluid and likely to change between now and the season opener, but here is where the Saints stand at the moment. Some highlights: Jaylon Smith is back: The veteran linebacker impressed in his short stint with the Saints during training camp, and it would not even be a remote surprise to see him play a lot of ball in a Saints uniform this season. Baby Megatron returns: Shaq Davis made quite an impression during training camp, and while he didn't make the initial 53, the Saints do have a history of undrafted receivers making an impact after starting the season on the practice squad. Mr. August holds down a spot: Perhaps nobody racked up more impressive preseason stats than defensive end Niko Lalos. New Orleans made sure to get a longer look at him. There were some other reported moves Wednesday, including one that said former Saints running back Tony Jones is on his way back to the Saints' practice squad. Stay tuned on that front. The Most Interesting SaintRookie punter Lou Hedley beat out incumbent punter Blake Gillikin for a spot on the Saints roster. That alone is an interesting story, but it pales in comparison to the rest of Hedley's story. Zach Ewing takes you through some of the details about the heavily-tattooed Australian punter here. Programming noteMake sure to check nola.com this morning for the start of our Tipping Point series, which will take a deep dive into the state of the Saints franchise over the next week. We'll start exactly where we should: With the quarterback the team hopes will make the franchise a contender again. That's all for now, but stay with us as we stay pinned to the pulse of the team with the regular season on the horizon. Cheers, Luke Johnson Jeff Duncan | 