Will Smith No Longer A Saint, Team Cuts Several Players Including Utica Product Smith

The New Orleans Saints cut several name players from their roster this week to get under the salary cap and one of them was Utica's Will Smith.

The defensive end/linebacker had been a defensive force, with 68 sacks in his first nine seasons, but missed all of the 2013 season with a knee injury.

Smith had his contract terminated along with Jabari Greer and Roman Harper. The Saints also said they would not re-sign Jon Vilma.

Yardbarker.com reports it's part of the team's plan to get under the salary cap:

Saints’ general manager Mickey Loomis commented on the difficulty of this decision. “These were not easy decisions to make,” Loomis told NewOrleansSaints.com, “however, a new NFL year is about to begin and, with the start of free agency in March, these difficult moves allow us to position our team under the salary cap to move forward for 2014″.

While Smith was coming off an injury that consumed the entire 2013 season, Smith felt he was nearing 100-percent coming into the final year of his contract with New Orleans - that according to Ron Moshier of the Utica Observer Dispatch who recently spoke to him by phone.