It wasn't that Boston Scott did anything wrong.
That couldn't have been the issue, obviously, or he wouldn't have survived the cut and made the New Orleans Saints' 53-man roster exiting training camp and preseason.
But New Orleans waived the rookie running back Wednesday because there was a need for his roster spot, in order to address other needs entering Sunday's regular-season opener against Tampa Bay in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Saints brought back offensive linemen Josh LeRibeus and Michael Ola.
"We're kind of moving some roster spots around," Coach Sean Payton said Thursday. "I think a lot of it had more to do with the bigger picture with how we wanted to go into this game.
"We thought (Scott) had a good training camp for us and yet, one of the challenges, especially early in the season, is trying to fit all the right pieces in place relative to your active roster and your practice squad. That was really, ultimately the main thing. He's developed and I'm sure is going to continue to (develop)."
The move left the Saints thin at running back, with only Alvin Kamara and Mike Gillislee at the position on the active roster. Payton said that could change, though.
"We'll see," he said. "We've never (gone into a game with just two running backs) before. That'd be hard to do, but it's certainly a possibility."
PEAT ON THE MEND: Left guard Andrus Peat missed Wednesday's practice with an injured quadriceps. LeRibeus worked with the No. 1 offense at his position during the portion of practice that media was allowed to attend. Peat spent much of the offseason recovering from a broken fibula suffered in the wild card game victory over Carolina. "Andrus is recovering fine, he's doing well," Payton said. "It's just going to be day-to-day with him. He's had a good offseason, I'm encouraged with his progress. We'll see how he does today and kind of go from there."
AN EARLY READ: Payton said he learned early in training camp that rookie receiver Tre'Quan Smith would be ready for the challenge of playing in the NFL. Smith's path of improvement followed a familiar arc. "It was a little bit like (Marques) Colston in that, in the spring it was hard to see," Payton said. Colston initially struggled with the Saints before settling in and going on to become the most productive receiver in franchise history. "(Smith) was just getting acclimated, but I think he began to come on early in training camp. You see it often, when a player begins to know what to do, he can confidently go out and perform a little better. I think that happened with him."
