A staple cartridge for use with a surgical stapler can comprise a cartridge deck and a plurality of staples at least partially positioned within the cartridge deck. In various embodiments, the staples can be supported by a support jaw of the surgical stapler and can comprise legs which can extend upwardly through apertures defined in the cartridge deck. In use, the cartridge deck can be pushed downwardly relative to the staples into a well defined in the support jaw.