With the speed at which COVID absences are piling up, nothing is guaranteed, but heading into the weekend it certainly appears like Ian Book's rookie debut could be the top headline for Monday Night Football.
That's because both Saints starting quarterback Taysom Hill and backup Trevor Siemian landed on the COVID list Thursday, along with seven others. With Jameis Winston lost for the season due to a knee injury, that leaves the former Notre Dame star as the lone healthy quarterback on the active roster.
“It’s not easy, especially Monday night," said Saints TE Nick Vannett. "We’re the only game being played; all eyes are on us. It’s not easy for anyone who is stepping into their first NFL game and taking on that role, especially a quarterback."
With the extra day, there's a chance that some of the players on the COVID list could test out in time for the game, but there are no guarantees. Saints head coach Sean Payton is still yet to return after his positive test on the Friday ahead of Week 15.
It's a scenario with which Vannett has some experience. He was a member of the Broncos during the 2020 season when all of their quarterbacks were ruled out due to COVID the day before a game against the Saints. He points out that at least this news comes with a few days of runway to establish a gameplan. Last year the team's only option was to throw out the previous plan and try to form an offense around practice squad WR Kendall Hinton. Saints starter Drew Brees was out for that game, with Hill getting the start during the less-than-pretty 31-3 victory. Should the Saints have to go the "emergency QB" route this week, it'd likely be Alvin Kamara taking the snaps.
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“The only thing we need to focus on is just the game," Vannett said. "We can’t worry about the situation that we’re in. If we worry about that, then in my mind we’re already losing the game."
Both Hill and Siemian have remained involved as the team prepares virtually for the matchup with the Dolphins and would be ready if necessary. Otherwise it'd likely be the Book show, something that's been seen only in meetings and on scout team thus far.
But those practice squad reps have been undeniably impressive, relays Vannett. He says there have been several instances with Book working against the Saints' talented defense, where he simply threw up his arms and said "Oh my God, how did he pull that off?"
And the TE's overall review was, in a word, glowing.
"He’s an unbelievable athlete, unbelievable quarterback. ... I would say he’s just as mobile as Taysom is. He’s a dual-threat, he can run around. He’ll get in there and get some yards scrambling around," Vannett said. "You know, I’m not sure if we’re going to call any [QB power runs] like we would with Taysom, but I think he’s a very good passer in all areas of the field. I think the biggest thing is we’ve just got to do a good job of getting him settled into the game. We can’t put too much on his plate right away."
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Despite being a rookie, Book has about as established of a winning resume as you could ask for. He finished his run at Notre Dame, under now-LSU head coach Brian Kelly, with the most wins in Irish history. That pedigree, OC Pete Carmichael said, along with a clear passion for and understanding of the game is what helped the Saints pull the trigger to draft him in the 4th round last May.
The Saints OC wouldn't show his cards on what the Saints were expecting the QB room to look like on Monday. It's possible another quarterback gets signed ahead of the game, but one thing we can say for certain is Book will get all the practice reps. There's simply no one else to take them.
"We feel really confident in him as a player," Carmichael said. "We still have some time before the game gets here. But we know this: If that’s the case, he’ll be prepared.”
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