The New Orleans Saints got a pair of players back for their first practice in France, most notably LB Kaden Elliss, who has missed the past three games with a calf injury.
Elliss was a limited participant on the day, his first action since the Saints' Week 3 loss to the Raiders. The following two games saw the Saints allow an average of 179 rushing yards, though they were much more stout in that regard during the win over the Giants.
“Kaden is obviously an important part to our defense," head coach Kellen Moore said. "He was out there some today and so that’ll be good to just see him out there and just see how the rest of this week progresses and obviously he’s done a great job at the start of the season.”
The Saints also saw DE Anfernee Jennings (knee), who was also injured during that loss to the Raiders, return to the field.
The player Saints fans are still waiting to see, however, is WR Jordyn Tyson (hamstring), the No. 8 overall selection in this year's draft. Tyson traveled with the team to Paris but will not practice this week, meaning the earliest he could potentially see the field will be Week 9 against the Browns. The Saints maintain that there has been no setback in Tyson's recovery from the hamstring injury suffered during a joint practice with the Jaguars in training camp.
Saints GM Mickey Loomis said they've been a little more cautious with Tyson given the stage of his career and his injury history, though he noted that the hamstring issue is different from what was dealt with at Arizona State and in the pre-draft process, something we've also heard from Moore.
“It can happen to any player. It’s unfortunate that it happened at the very beginning of his career, but hopefully this is the one and only injury that he has, Loomis said, "and we’re really encouraged by what he saw in training camp, when he was practicing before he got injured and we’re looking forward to having him back.”
Tyson has been on injured reserve since the start of the season. He is eligible to return to practice whenever he is ready and from that point the Saints would have up to 21 days to add him to the active roster.
Here's how the Saints injury report broke down on Wednesday during their practice at Stade Montbauron in Versailles:
LP = limited participation; FP = full participation; DNP = did not participate
- K Daniel Carlson (NIR-personal): DNP
- RB CJ Donaldson (shoulder): LP
- LB Kaden Elliss (calf): LP
- DE Anfernee Jennings (knee): LP
- RB Alvin Kamara (back): LP
- CB Kool-Aid McKinstry (head): FP
- RG Cesar Ruiz (knee): DNP
- DT Nathan Shepherd (illness): FP
- QB Tyler Shough (left hand): FP
The two other notable absences are that of RG Cesar Ruiz (knee) and K Daniel Carlson. Ruiz is day-to-day, Moore said, after leaving with the injury late in the first half in the win over the Giants. Rookie Jeremiah Wright filled in and the Saints saw their most efficient rushing output of the season (175 yards on 38 carries). He would be expected to carry the load again if Ruiz can't play.
Carlson, who made a pair of long field goals and all four PATs in the win over the Giants, stayed behind in the states with his wife expecting their fourth child. Moore said that Carlson is expected to be able to rejoin the team prior to the game, but Charlie Smyth would also be available off of the practice squad if needed.
The Steelers, meanwhile, had six players listed as DNPs on their initial injury report. Pittsburgh opted to travel back to their home base after their Week 6 win over the Bucs and will not head to France until Thursday, allowing for a much smaller window to acclimate to the time difference. Teams have often employed different strategies for international travel, and it was a similar case for the Saints-Vikings game in 2022. New Orleans went directly to London after their Week 3 game that year, while Minnesota traveled late in the week. The Vikings won that game. The subject became a hot topic again this year when the 49ers and Rams employed vastly different travel strategies for their season-opening matchup in Australia, with the 49ers -- who spent the week in the area leading up to the game -- looking significantly better.
Here's how Pittsburgh's injury report broke down on Wednesday:
- RB Rico Dowdle (knee): LP
- CB Brandon Echols (hamstring): DNP
- S DeShon Elliott (knee): FP
- DT Cam Heyward (NIR-rest): DNP
- LB Alex Highsmith (groin): LP
- DE Sebastian Joseph (triceps): DNP
- CB Jalen Ramsey (wrist): DNP
- WR Ben Skowronek (calf): DNP
- LB TJ Watt (NIR-rest): DNP
The Saints (2-4) and Steelers (4-2) will face off inside Stade de France at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday. Catch all the action on WWL and Audacy.
