There were a lot of absences as the Saints got back to work on Wednesday, and at times it was fair to wonder whether the work was going at half-speed.
That wasn't a mirage. The team got back to New Orleans about 3:30 a.m. on Monday and was working back from a long trip out to L.A. and tough joint practices and head coach Dennis Allen admitted there was a bit of grind setting in.
“Probably wasn’t as spirited a practice as what we maybe have had," Allen said. "I think is probably the most significant action that guys have gotten, ... not a lot of rest. So hopefully we’ll get back out here tomorrow and have a good practice.”
The team will get back to some early morning practices the rest of this week, and the juice should be back for those.
TAKING ATTENDANCE
There were 14 players not in attendance on Tuesday, with most of the absences relative to injuries. One player who wasn't dealing with an injury was struggling WR Bryan Edwards. RB Darrel Williams also left practice early with a groin issue.
Here are the players who were not in attendance:
- TE Taysom Hill (oblique)
- WR Tre'Quan Smith (groin)
- WR Bryan Edwards (waived)
- WR Rashid Shaheed (groin)
- CB Marshon Lattimore (knee)
- RB Kirk Merritt (hamstring)
- S Smoke Monday (personal)
- LB Ryan Connelly (knee)
- DT Niko Lalos (groin)
- OT Landon Young (knee)
- G Calvin Throckmorton (rib)
- TE Jimmy Graham (head)
- TE Jesse James (groin)
- WR Lynn Bowden Jr. (groin)
The biggest name on the list is Lattimore, but Allen doubled-down on the idea that it was not significant. He left early from Friday's joint practice with a knee injury and did not play on Sunday, though that was the case for most of the Saints' starters.
Less positive news came for Ryan Connelly, who is dealing with what Allen said is believed to be a significant knee injury. It's a bummer for a player who has struggled through injuries for much of his career but was turning heads in camp.
The most positive returns came in the forms of Demario Davis and Andrus Peat, both of whom were with the team in L.A. and got in some work, but were held out of team drills. Both got back into limited action on Tuesday.
The other notable absence was that of Jimmy Graham, though he is expected to return at some point this week, possibly as early as Wednesday, according to Allen.
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VET ON SPECIAL TEAMS
As noted above, Demario Davis looks to be getting back to health. So what would that mean for Jaylon Smith? He's showed well so far and still has a chance to stick around, but a lot will be contingent on how he performs on special teams.
That question will be tougher to answer than you'd think, because a lot of it is new to him. In his six NFL seasons, Smith has just 287 total special teams reps. It might sound like a big number, but it's not. For perspective, Saints LB Andrew Dowell -- who is done for the year with an ACL injury -- had 377 special teams reps in the 2022 season alone.
CAM JORDAN, FOREVER YOUNG
On a day where 14 players didn't participate, you could bet money Cam Jordan wasn't going to be on that list. He's still racing teammates to the sidelines (and winning) just for the heck of it. On one play he got into the backfield so fast he was ready to de-cleat Alvin Kamara on a stretch handoff. I never cease to be impressed by the motor on that man, and I think it's starting to rub off an a player like Payton Turner, who is yet to miss to miss a practice this training camp.
JUMP (BALL) MAN
Ok, he's not named after Jordan, but there's no questioning the jump ball ability Shaq has in his body. And there's no one better to give him those opportunities than Jameis Winston (sometimes to a fault). We saw that in Week 2 of the preseason and we saw it against in today's practice. In my opinion he's shown better in that regard than A.T. Perry, but both have impressed. I'm guessing the practice squad will be the route for Davis early in his career, but there's a lot to like there.
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2ND TEAM PEAT
I've been projecting this for a while now, but Andrus Peat ran with the 2s today in practice. It could be a sign that he's working back slowly, but I think it's just reality for him. James Hurst is the starter. That said, if you're worried about the depth of the OL (as I am), he's not a bad guy to pencil into a backup spot.
HAENER REPS
After a week of getting left out of the rotation in team drills, we saw rookie Jake Haener get back in for third-team snaps. I think that's a sign that we'll probably see game reps for the first-team offense this week.
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