Pete Werner had surgery on his ankle. He's already ahead of schedule and there's hope that he plays again this season.
— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) November 16, 2022
Here’s another New Orleans Saints injury update. NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill first reported that linebacker Pete Werner underwent ankle surgery after a recent injury, and the team is optimistic that he’ll return to play before the regular season wraps up. Werner has looked like the best player on the team at times this season, so it would be nice to get him back in the lineup. He exited Week 9’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens with an injury and was inactive for Week 10, but remains on the 53-man roster.
What’s odd is that Werner had surgery but wasn’t designated to injured reserve, but that’s been typical for the Saints this year. They haven’t done a good job of estimating when players would return from injured reserve — wide receivers Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry each missed five or six weeks before Thomas was put on ice for the year and Landry returned, while defensive tackle Malcolm Roach and safety P.J. Williams were both able to return as soon as their four-week term wrapped up. Cornerback Marshon Lattimore has been sidelined five weeks and doesn’t appear close to returning.
It would be a surprise to see Werner back in, say, a week or two so soon after going under the knife but stranger things have happened. The good news is that the Saints have gotten solid play out of their linebacker corps. It’s arguably the strength of their defense with Demario Davis leading the unit and Kaden Elliss filling in well for Werner. But we’ll keep an eye out for movement and any word on when Werner is going to be back out there.
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