Tanoh Kpassagnon hadn't been able to see action once over the 2024 season as he worked back from a torn Achilles, but he was never out of sight.
He could be spotted most days during camp in Irvine pacing the edges of the field in a weighted vest. He could be seen most days after practice working with trainers and battling to get back.
On Tuesday he put on pads for the first time and worked into drills, drawing cheers from his teammates and marking the start of his 21-day return window from injured reserve. He even broke the team down after practice.
"That’s been a long road back," Rizzi said. "I’m really, really proud of Tanoh, probably ... since Tanoh’s gotten injured I haven’t seen someone in this building more than him, and that’s a credit to him. Sometimes it’s really easy to get frustrated, especially with the rehab process, so you know, kudos to him."
At one point during practice Rizzi went over and excitedly congratulated Kpassagnon, giving him a hug and patting the veteran DE on the helmet.
"It was a really, really happy moment for me to see him out there in pads," Rizzi continued.
Kpassagnon has been a significant rotational piece for the Saints each of the past three seasons, appearing in 40 games and logging 9.5 sacks, 65 tackles, 10 TFLs and 41 QB hits. It's unclear how long it'd take him to round into playing form, but the Saints have been notably healthy this season at the DE position, with Chase Young, Carl Granderson, Cam Jordan and Payton Turner all combining to have just one game missed.
It's the latest in a series of practice returns from IR stints that have helped give the team a bit of a boost in recent works. Another player in that group is Nephi Sewell, who made his season debut in Week 11 as he returned from an ACL tear in Week 17 of last season. He was also named the Ed Block Courage Award recipient for the Saints this season, an accolade voted on by the players.
Rizzi and DE Cam Jordan both pointed to Tuesday's practice as one of the team's best of the season.
"You see the D-line being overly excited, you get a guy like Tanoh Kpassagnon back," he said, "but it’s just as well as we take the periods, there’s guys making plays and everyone is celebrating, everyone is running out the stack. It looks like everybody wants to be better, play better. We put up plays from the Cleveland game today and it was like, this is how we get better, and that’s the emphasis. It’s trying to go 1-0 this week no matter which way or how.”
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Center Erik McCoy is another player who made his return from IR in Week 11 but it ended early due to a groin issue. Rizzi said the day after the game that test came back clean and they were playing it safe, but he wasn't out at practice on Tuesday -- an earlier start to the practice week than typical due to the Thanksgiving schedule. His status the rest of the week will be worth watching.
“We’re just kind of taking it smart with Erik. We started off earlier in the week, so he’s kind of just still day-to-day. That’s really all with Erik, let’s kind of see, probably have more info [Wednesday] on where he’s at.”
WR Chris Olave remains on IR but he's in good spirits. He was out watching practice on Tuesday as he continues to navigate his way back from a latest concussion. He's got another visit with a specialist upcoming and the team is expecting to have more info regarding his outlook in the coming weeks.
“He’s in a good place. Him and I the last couple days, we had great conversations. He’s feeling a lot better and we’re just, like I said, with that kind of injury just want to make sure we do the right thing by the person and that’s what we’re doing.”
The Saints (4-7) host the Rams (5-6) on Sunday at the Caesars Superdome for a 3:05 p.m. kickoff. Catch all the action on WWL and Audacy.
