The New Orleans Saints' 2024 training camp isn't over yet, but Friday had a bit of a last-day-of school feeling to it out at UC Irvine.
The team wrapped up the final set of its 18 practices held out west, and for the second time in as many days it was a lighter session in shells. We saw a lot of situational work, highlighted by an impressive game-winning scenario at the end of practice, more on that below.
There was a lot of high-intensity work with more reasonable temperatures, but also a lot of soft tissue injuries. So let's hit on that before moving on to more traditional notes.
TAKING ATTENDANCE
Here's who we didn't see participating in practice on the final day out in Irvine.
- S Ugo Amadi (groin)
- WR A.T. Perry (ankle)
- LB Pete Werner (shoulder)
- WR Rashid Shaheed (toe)
- CB Marshon Lattimore (hip)
- RB Kendre Miller (hamstring)
- CB Paulson Adebo (groin)
- S Millard Bradford
- RB Alvin Kamara (back)
- LB Isaiah Stalbird
- LB Jaylan Ford (hamstring)
- G Nick Saldiveri (calf)
- OT Josiah Ezirim (ankle)
- LT Taliese Fuaga (back)
- DL Trajan Jeffcoat (elbow)
- WR Mason Tipton (hamstring)
- TE Michael Jacobson (foot)
- DE Cam Jordan (rest)
Yes, that's a long list. The good news is that injuries are largely soft tissue in nature. As of now there are no injuries to key players that should be expected to keep them out for the year, which isn't necessarily the case when you look around at other camps. A majority of the issues seem to be maintenance-related, meaning that if there was a regular season game this week, I expect a lot of these players would be ready to go. Regardless, it's a lot to monitor.
Rookie Taliese Fuaga missed his first practice of camp with a back issue. It's still unclear how significant his issue is or whether it'll keep him out of the preseason tilt against the 49ers on Sunday. Dennis Allen wouldn't give a timeline, but did say that he doesn't expect the injury to be something that puts Week 1 in jeopardy for the first-round pick. Landon Young and Oli Udoh traded off reps in his place, and barring any moves they would be the players I'd look at as the next up at this point.
Shaheed's issue is a little concerning just because it's his second injury of camp. We'll have to see how that develops. I'd be surprised if he plays on Sunday.
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Some good news is that Demario Davis has continued to ramp up his work in practice and looks like he's nearly back to full participation. He got into team reps for the second consecutive day and got out in coverage for a PBU on a ball targeting Taysom Hill up the left sideline. I'd be surprised if he sees action in the preseason, but it's good to see, regardless.
Hopefully we start to see a good number of these players get back into action over the next few weeks, including TE Juwan Johnson who has been on the PUP list but seems to be progressing at a positive rate.
HAENER'S STRONG FINISH
This was a day where we saw a lot of situational work, but it was the final set that really drove home what has been the most impressive element for Jake Haener throughout these practices. He was handed the ball with 48 seconds remaining and no timeouts from the 45 yard line in need of a touchdown to take the lead and win the game. That's exactly what happened.
After the first team offense saw their drive stall at the 30-yard line with Dennis Allen opting not to attempt a Hail Mary play, Haener's drive moved quickly. After an incompletion targeting Dallin Holker, the QB found Kevin Austin Jr. on a deep in cut for a 20-yard gain followed by a spike with 27 seconds remaining. Next it was Samson Nacua to the 14-yard line, followed by a fake spike and fade to Austin again in the corner of the end zone, with the wide receiver hauling in the pass but only getting one foot in bounds as he tried to tip-toe the sideline.
That meant the Saints had a chance for multiple shots from the 14-yard line with 10 seconds remaining. They only needed one, with Haener going right back to Austin over Mac McCain in coverage for a touchdown and an excellent finish to the final day of practice out west.
We've seen the young QB stay poised and deliver in similar situations throughout camp, and we also saw it in the preseason opener against the Cardinals when he took the ball deep in his own territory with less than a minute remaining and bringing the team downfield for a field goal. In my opinion, when we talk about QBs that we'd call "winners," it's often the guys that deliver most frequently in those winning-type scenarios. When you're trying to decide who should be your backup QB when the regular season arrives, that should go a long way.
WHERE'S THE SPEED
One thing that has become clear as practices have gone on, when Shaheed isn't out there with the first-team offense, things can get a bit stagnant. His ability to stretch the field and keep the defense honest will be important this year. He wasn't out there today, and neither were A.T. Perry or Mason Tipton. It's becoming more and more clear that there's a bit of a speed deficit in this group with the guys that were in action -- with the exception of Chris Olave of course.
Can someone step up and force their way into that conversation over the next few weeks? As mentioned above, Austin has been delivering in those high-pressure situations and seems like he has the speed to stretch things a bit. A big performance in Week 2 of the preseason could go a long way.
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OLYMPIC VISITS
There was an Olympic medal at the Saints practice on Friday, and the team has Deuce McAllister to thank (at least for making sure it got there). As Mike Hoss, Deuce and myself were making our daily trek from the van to the field today, we spotted a few folks milling about taking photos near the Anteater statue on campus, one of whom was wearing a distinctive looking hunk of metal around his neck.
It turned out to be David Smith, a UCI alum who was a member of the U.S. men's indoor volleyball team that took down the bronze medal at the Paris games earlier this month. Hoss went over to say congratulations and Deuce suggested that he come up the hill to practice so he could show the team what his Olympic prize looked like. Smith obliged and spent a good portion of the day standing along the sidelines watching the Saints work.
That's the end of the story, just thought it was a cool moment.
LAGNIAPPE
If you're wondering why no Spencer Rattler notes, it's because this was a light day for him. He was working with the 3s and only took four reps in team drills. He's been dealing with a thigh bruise and I expect him to run with the 2s in Sunday's game, so the lighter day was probably by design. ... Blake Grupe hit 8-of-9 kicks on the day with his lone miss from 44. Considering the consistent wind the kickers have been battling throughout camp, that's a pretty solid day. I think he's won another year on the job, personally, but we'll have to wait and see. ... Lucas Patrick and Bryan Bresee got into a pretty heated fight on the final rep of team drills. Their set ended after that play on what would've been a 4th down heave to the end zone from the 31-yard line. It looked initially like that was some form of punishment, but DA said he didn't want to run a hail mary set, which happened earlier in camp as well. ... When the Saints run motion in their offense, it seems to set things up better in general. The play action in particular was more effective today, and I think that's just a product of moving eyes around pre-snap. It's subtle, but that extra split second creates a lot. That's why I'm not going to overreact to the first-team offense in the preseason because you're just not doing a lot of the things that are specifically designed to slow the defense down.