Kwon Alexander has always been a man to stretch the boundaries of the word legendary, but as he prepares to take the field in Week 1 against the Packers, there's no way to better describe his road back to game action after an Achilles tear in Week 16 last season.
The Saints linebacker didn't leave room for doubt when asked if he'd be in action when the team hosts the Green Bay Packers in Jacksonville on Sunday.
"I'm playing this week, for sure," Alexander said, just 8 months after the brutal injury that ended his 2020 season.
That injury was the low point of a Christmas day demolition of the Minnesota Vikings, seven games after the former LSU star was acquired in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers. Despite joining the team midseason, Alexander immediately vibed with this Saints group, particularly Demario Davis.
Alexander was cut early in the offseason as the Saints shed more than $100 million to get under the cap, but re-signed on an incentive-laden deal early in the offseason. He saw limited reps in practice and no snaps in the team's two preseason games. His workload for Week 1 is still a question mark, even if he's out on the field with the defense.
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Coach Sean Payton said there were no specific goals for when Alexander would return, but the plan was always to take it slow and go by what the team, trainers and other personnel saw throughout workouts.
"We set a course of how we want him to return gradually to play, and we’re going to continue to do that,” Payton said.
Alexander will be working alongside one of the deeper Saints linebacker groups in recent memory, headlined by veteran Demario Davis. The most impressive player in the preseason was likely Zack Baun, who appears to have earned a much more significant role in Year 2. Rookie Pete Werner and Kaden Elliss are also interesting pieces to watch among the seven linebackers kept by the team heading into Week 1 as the team works at TCU's facility in Fort Worth.
“I’ve been anxious every year just to be back out there. It’s a blessing to be out there playing the game that we love," Alexander said. "So I think everybody’s just happy. It’s the first game of the year, we’ve got to set the tone early."
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