The New Orleans Saints had a bit of a skeleton crew for their final training camp practice before their preseason opener on Saturday.
All four quarterbacks were in action, but the following players weren't seen on Thursday morning:
- WR, Tre'Quan Smith
- WR, Jalen McCleskey
- RB, Alvin Kamara
- S, Malcolm Jenkins
- S, Marcus Williams
- LB, Pete Werner
- LB, Quentin Poling
- CB, Kei'Varae Russell
- CB, Adonis Alexander
- DE, Payton Turner
Smith still hasn't returned from an injury that's kept him out of practice for more than a week, though he was spotted at practice on Wednesday in street clothes. McCleskey, Turner and Werner are all said to have minor injuries. Other players, including Kamara and Jenkins, were likely just getting veteran rest days.
But for the action at practice? Here are a few takeaways.
WINSTON TO WINSTON
The Saints' quarterback competition has had its ups and downs, but one of the big up moments came on Tuesday with a Jameis Winston to Easop Winston bomb as the team worked in team drills indoors.
Easop, whom Jameis jokingly said was his cousin earlier in camp, got on top of the defense -- playing without its two starting safeties -- and laid out for a diving catch into the end zone. The ball traveled at least 50 yards in the air, and might have been a bit overthrown. Easop made sure it didn't matter while securing a highlight reel catch. That marked the second consecutive day with a bomb for Jameis, who appears to be dialing in downfield a bit better as camp wears on. He hit Deonte Harris downfield for a long touchdown in Wednesday's practice.
MAHER'S LEG
The Saints showed off their newly signed kicker's leg for the first time at Thursday's practice, with Brett Maher showing his power despite a little inaccuracy.
The former Cowboys kicker sent six balls toward the uprights, connecting on four of them. He's the lone man for the kicking job as long as Wil Lutz remains out recovering from surgery to repair a core injury, but he'll be an important player to watch this week against the Ravens. He might not have pressure behind him on the roster, but he'll have to prove he can be trusted with the job on kickoffs, field goals and PATs for the Saints to pencil him in as the Week 1 starter at the position.
KWON IN THE ACTION
The Saints have taken a careful approach with Kwon Alexander as he works back from an Achilles tear that ended his 2020 season. He's said he's back to 100% and more explosive than ever, but hasn't yet been a full go in team drills as the Saints ensure he's ready for action after re-signing him to a 1-year veteran deal last week.
The linebacker got his nose into the action, though, on a hard-hitting Thursday session, seeing work in 9-on-7 drills geared toward stopping run action. The Saints know what they have in Alexander when he's healthy, so don't be surprised if he's held out of action on Saturday against Baltimore.