New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston made significant progress this week in terms of a potential return, but there's still one clear hurdle left to clear.
Winston was a limited participant Wednesday after missing each practice of the past two weeks battling through back and ankle injuries. But coaches will likely want to see him get through a full practice before they feel comfortable putting him back under center to lead the Saints' offense.
"I think it really depends on, what are we calling good to go," McAllister said on SportsTalk with Bobby Hebert, Mike Detillier and Kristian Garic this week.
Listen to Deuce McAllister's full interview in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
"They would [probably] want him to go to a full practice to feel comfortable about him having the full reins," McAllister continued. "And if [Jameis is] limited, then he will probably be up, but not starting."
There are a few reasons that might be the case, with the largest likely being that the Week 6 matchup with the Bengals is followed by a long flight and Thursday Night Football matchup with the Arizona Cardinals. If Winston is a close call for this game -- and that same point could be true for any player working back from an injury -- could they be expected to be ready to play again four days later?
The answer to that question could be the determining factor in whether Andy Dalton gets a third start at quarterback in relief. He's been a steady presence since taking over in a losing effort against the Vikings in London, and a bounce-back win over the Seahawks to end a three-game losing streak, aided greatly by Taysom Hill and Alvin Kamara on the ground. He's completed 36 of 53 passes for 423 yards, with two touchdowns, one interception and one fumble.
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ON THOSE ROUGHING THE PASSER CALLS
"What you see is inconsistency from officials. I mean, they're trying to call it the way the rule is written and in both of those situations, you want the guy basically laying [the QB] down. You don't want the quarterback thrown down. Well, if you go back to Monday's game, you know, Patrick Mahomes was sacked and he was tossed down in almost the exact manner of Tom Brady [against the Falcons]. I mean, and so you know, even Chris Jones, I think had a sack that you know, it was questionable. ... They were saying the defensive guys, they don't want that defensive player to land on the quarterback. Okay, I understand that. I get that. Now, if I throw him down a certain way, you don't want me to do that either.. You just want consistency. That's all you want."
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ON JORDAN HOWARD
The Saints signed veteran RB Jordan Howard to the practice squad this week.
"Jordan definitely fits the profile of what they want to do from a production standpoint as far as a runner. He really bounced around because of the knee injury that he had, and I just don't know if he ever got the true explosion back that he had from that, and he's a guy that can catch the football as well for you a little bit out the backfield. ... The biggest question mark will be in that situation because normally your third back, and right now that's Dwayne Washington, has to play special teams. Well, if you bring another back up, that guy definitely has to play special teams. And I don't know if Jordan is gonna be able to do that."
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