Sean Payton earned some more ire from New Orleans Saints fans last week when his Denver Broncos signed another ex-Saints player -- former 2023 draft pick A.T. Perry, the wide receiver from Wake Forest. Perry showed up on game days but his poor day-to-day performance at practice didn't help his case for a roster spot, and the team chose to waive him.
Now he's on the Broncos practice squad. Payton spoke about the decision to add Perry, who he sees as a player with impressive physical gifts and plenty of skills to develop further.
"We had some exposure with him," Payton said Friday. "I obviously wasn’t there, but Pete Carmichael (was). We noticed him in his rookie year last year on film... We weren’t going to claim him, but we sure would like to recruit him to come to the practice squad. He’s long with good hands."
It should also be noted that former Saints assistant college scouting director Cody Rager was hired into Denver's front office this offseason, and he was part of the decision to draft Perry a year ago.
Payton emphasized that they view Perry as a stash-and-develop signing, not someone likely to get thrown into a game right away. He's a longshot to p lay against the Saints next Thursday night, but never say never. He learned Carmichael's playbook as a rookie which is derived from Payton's system. Perry may not need as much time to get up to speed as other players in his position.
