The New Orleans Saints have signed wide receiver Lynn Bowden Jr. and defensive end Kyle Phillips to the active roster from the practice squad, signed defensive back Faion Hicks, tight end Michael Jacobson, linebacker Terrell Lewis and linebacker Ty Summers to the practice squad, placed defensive end Payton Turner on Injured Reserve, placed linebacker Ryan Connelly on Practice Squad Injured Reserve and terminated the practice squad contract of wide receiver Jontre Kirklin, it was announced today by Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis.
Bowden, 6-1, 204, had three receptions for 40 yards, returned five punts for 43 yards and brought back three kickoffs for 61 yards in the 2023 preseason for the Saints, signing with the team at the end of the offseason. Originally selected in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Las Vegas Raiders out of Kentucky, Bowden appeared in ten games and made four starts in his rookie campaign for the Miami Dolphins, finishing the season with 28 receptions for 211 yards along with nine rushing attempts for 32 yards. He also played in one game for New England in 2022. Playing in 39 games for Kentucky at quarterback, wide receiver and running back, as well as return duties, Bowden started 25 contests and finished with career marks of 38-of-79 passing (48.1 pct.) for 495 yards and three touchdowns, 206 carries for 1,530 yards (7.4 avg.) and 13 touchdowns, 114 receptions for 1,303 yards (11.4 avg.) and six touchdowns, 71 kickoff returns for 1,628 yards (22.9 avg.), and nine punt returns for 199 yards (22.1 avg.) and two touchdowns. His 4,660 career all-purpose yards ranked fifth in school history.
Phillips, 6-4, 277, was originally signed by the New York Jets as a rookie free agent in 2019, out of Tennessee. He joined the Saints at the start of training camp and returned an interception five yards to set up a game-winning field goal in the preseason opener vs. Kansas City. The Nashville native played in 29 games with eight starts for the Jets (2019-21) and has career totals of 68 tackles (44 solo), 2.5 sacks, 12 stops for loss and a pass defense. The fourth-year defensive lineman snared a roster spot out of the preseason for the Jets in 2019 and played in 15 games (four starts) and recorded 42 tackles, including a team-leading 18 for loss (coaches stats) and finished tied for seventh in the league among all rookies to go with 1.5 sacks. In 2021, Phillips returned to action from a season-ending ankle injury that required surgery suffered at midseason in 2020 and finished with 15 tackles, one sack and two stops for loss.
Hicks, 5-10, 192, was originally selected in the seventh round (232nd overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos out of Wisconsin. In 2022, the Pembroke Pines, Fla. native appeared in two games on special teams. During his college career, he started 39-of-44 games for the Badgers and recorded 108 tackles (85 solo), one interception and 18 passes defensed. In 2021, he started all 11 games played and was named consensus All-Big Ten honorable mention for the second consecutive year after tallying 28 tackles (21 solo) and ten passes defensed.
Jacobson, 6-7, 244, was originally signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2021, following a college basketball career at Nebraska (2015-17) and Iowa State (2018-20) and playing for the Kyiv-Basket of the Ukrainian Basketball League. In 2021, Jacobson spent time on both the Seahawks and Indianapolis Colts practice squads and went to training camp with the Colts in 2022 and 2023.
Lewis, 6-5, 262, was originally selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the third round (84th overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Alabama. Lewis played for the Rams from 2020-22, before joining the Chicago Bears practice squad for the last three weeks of the 2022 season and competing in the 2023 preseason for Chicago. In 30 career NFL games in Los Angeles, the Washington, D.C. native has started seven contests and posted 40 tackles (27 solo), six sacks, one interception, three passes defensed and one forced fumble. Lewis was selected to the All-SEC second-team squad by the league coaches as a junior when he was tired for fifth among SEC defenders with 11.5 tackles for loss and was ninth in the conference with 6.0 sacks.
Summers, 6-1, 241, is a four-year NFL veteran who was signed by the Saints from the Jacksonville practice squad in Week 16 of the 2022 season and posted two coverage stops. Originally selected by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round (226th overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft out of TCU, the San Antonio, Texas native has played in 52 regular season games with one start, posting career totals of 31 tackles (23 solo), one pass defense, 27 special teams stops and one coverage fumble recovery. In four postseason games for Green Bay from 2019-20, he posted two solo tackles and three coverage stops.
