Greg

Romeus

The Saints knew Romeus wouldn’t play this season after drafting him in the seventh round this past April. A big-time college pass rusher at Pitt, Romeus is healing from back and knee surgeries. “We’re real encouraged by what we saw (of Romeus),” said coach Sean Payton Wednesday. Romeus will have a chance to make a contribution in 2012.

Romeus tore his other ACL as a senior at Pitt and missed his entire rookie year while recovering from November, 2011 reconstructive surgery. At one point a big-time prospect in college, Romeus simply can’t shake the injury bug. It’s a fairly big loss for the Saints because they are so thin at defensive end.

Romeus is out for the season after tearing his left ACL and MCL in OTAs. He tore his right ACL during his senior year at Pitt. Romeus’ NFL future is cloudy, to say the least. LB Donovan Robinson will take his place on the offseason roster.

Romeus, a 2011 seventh-round pick out of Pittsburgh, tore his right ACL as a senior, and then tore his left ACL and MCL last spring in OTAs. He’s never played a down in the NFL, and he didn’t really fit in the new 3-4 defense.

Romeus also had back surgery at Pitt, but that’s less of a concern than the knee. A former projected first-round pick, Romeus fell to round seven due to his medical. Said coach Sean Payton, “He’ll be a guy we have to track through the rehab and really see where he is step-by-step prior to training camp.”

At 6-foot-5, 264 pounds, Romeus has excellent size to go along with above-average athleticism. Knee and back injuries cost him most of his senior season at Pitt, however, causing him to fall much further than his talent would dictate. Both an adept pass rusher and run stopper, he should be able to make the Saints’ 53-man roster as long as he can get healthy.

The Saints will reevaluate Romeus after six games. A seventh-round pick out of Pitt, the Saints knew full well Romeus wouldn’t help them early this year. Recovery from ACL and back surgeries is the reason he fell so far in the draft.

Romeus underwent ACL surgery in November and was tentatively expected to be ready for training camp. He’ll have to prove his health to make the final roster despite his impressive 6'5/264 frame and production at Pittsburgh.

It isn’t like Rosenhaus is going to publicize it if his client’s rehab was going poorly, but this is another positive report on Romeus. After he was drafted, the surgeon who did Romeus’ ACL reconstruction assured that he’d be ready for training camp. We still wouldn’t expect a big year-one impact.