Tag: A.T. Perry

A.T. Perry has an opportunity to prove himself in Michael Thomas’ absence

A.T. Perry has a big opportunity to prove himself in Michael Thomas’ absence. The rookie must step up with a vacancy in the receiving corps:

The New Orleans Saints have placed wide receiver Michael Thomas on injured reserve. This continues an unfortunate trend for the wide receiver, though there’s hope he returns before the end of the season. There are two ways to go about filling Thomas’ role. You’re likely replacing his production with multiple players, but who’s going to step into his role.

New Orleans brought back Keith Kirkwood and Marquez Callaway after Thomas’ injury. The Saints philosophy is to typically lean on veteran players. Kirkwood had 209 receiving yards as a rookie with New Orleans, but that was in 2018. Callaway was the Saints lead receiver when Thomas missed a whole season. Callaway would be able to slot well into Thomas role.

However, neither Callaway or Kirkwood have Perry’s upside. The Saints should lean away from their typical reliance on veterans in favor of getting a bigger sample size of a young player. Thomas’ absence opens the door for A.T. Perry to show himself deserving of a bigger role. Perry is a rookie who registered his first catch and touchdown in last week’s game versus the Minnesota Vikings.

In this week’s opening press conference, Saints head coach Dennis Allen said “Mike’s position is the kind of position they see Perry playing” and expected a bigger role for Perry. This is the right call, as Perry deserves an opportunity to show if he can be a future asset for the Saints.

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Dennis Allen: Michael Thomas, Marshon Lattimore may ‘take some time’ with injuries

Saints head coach Dennis Allen said that WR Michael Thomas and CB Marshon Lattimore may ‘take some time’ recovering from injuries:

New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen addressed injuries to star players Michael Thomas and Marshon Lattimore on Monday, and it doesn’t sound like either of them will be available for Sunday’s game with the Atlanta Falcons. Thomas and Lattimore exited the Saints’ loss to the Minnesota Vikings with knee and ankle injuries before the bye week.

“I think Michael Thomas and Lattimore, these are injuries that are going to take some time. But I think other than that we’re in a pretty good spot,” Allen said. When asked about possibly placing either player on injured reserve, he responded, “I don’t know, we’ll see.”

Allen declined to specify who will be filling in for either of them, acknowledging that veteran backup Isaac Yiadom was an option to start in Lattimore’s place. The Saints could also rotate Alontae Taylor there out of the slot or ask Paulson Adebo to play on the other side of the field. They have options.

That’s also true offensively. A.T. Perry made a few plays against Minnesota while stepping in for Thomas, but the Saints have brought in experienced pros Keith Kirkwood and Marquez Callaway in recent days, too. Allen’s keeping his cards tight to his vest on this front. Hopefully Thomas and Lattimore can heal up and get back on the field sooner rather than later.

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Saints bring back another familiar face after Michael Thomas injury

With Michael Thomas on the mend, the Saints have brought back another familiar face: wide receiver Marquez Callaway

With Michael Thomas on the mend, the New Orleans Saints have brought back another familiar face: wide receiver Marquez Callaway. Callaway was spotted in the open locker room media session on Monday at the team practice facility, though it isn’t immediately clear whether he’s on the practice squad or the 53-man roster, or what the corresponding roster move is for his return.

Callaway spent the first three years of his career with the Saints, peaking in 2021 with 46 catches for 698 yards and 6 touchdown receptions. The 6-foot-2, 204-pound wideout was college teammates with Alvin Kamara and Alontae Taylor at Tennessee. The Saints declined to extend his contract this offseason so he followed Sean Payton to the Denver Broncos, but was let go during roster cuts after training camp and spent a few weeks on the Las Vegas Raiders practice squad.

Now he’s back — and so is Keith Kirkwood, another veteran receiver who knows the playbook. It’s worth bringing in experienced pros like them to tide the team over if Thomas is going to miss extended time.

But you have to hope their presence won’t come at a detriment to A.T. Perry. The rookie wideout stepped up when Thomas was injured early on against the Minnesota Vikings, catching a 15-yard touchdown pass and a 23-yard pickup that was the team’s second-longest play from scrimmage. He deserves more targets, but Dennis Allen’s coaching staff may feel differently.

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Rookie report card: Grading the Saints 2023 draft class at midseason

Rookie report card: How do you grade the New Orleans Saints 2023 draft class at midseason? Have Bryan Bresee and his peers met expectations?

So much hype is built up for the annual NFL draft class, but it isn’t always fair to put such high expectations on rookie players. In many cases there are well-established veteran players in place ahead of them who they need to outwork for snaps in practice, much less in games. And that’s before other inhibiting factors like injuries and suspensions get in the way of their development.

Keep that in mind as we go through our New Orleans Saints rookie report card. The Saints’ 2024 draft class hasn’t had many opportunities to distinguish itself going up to the Week 11 bye, and the seven remaining games in the regular season are going to be critical for many of them. Here’s how we grade each first-year pro’s performance at midseason:

Keith Kirkwood re-signs with the Saints after Michael Thomas injury

Wide receiver Keith Kirkwood re-signed with the Saints after a knee injury sidelined Michael Thomas:

He’s back: the New Orleans Saints re-signed wide receiver Keith Kirkwood on Tuesday, adding depth to the position in the wake of a knee injury for Michael Thomas. Kirkwood became a favorite target of Derek Carr’s over the summer at training camp, but he was limited to a role as a run-blocking specialist in the regular season and was supplanted by rookie draft pick A.T. Perry in recent weeks.

Still, it makes sense to bring him back when the team is short-handed. Thomas could miss some time coming out of the bye week after injuring his knee in Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

That would leave the team with Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Lynn Bowden Jr., and Perry on the 53-man roster with just Jontre Kirklin on the practice squad — rookie wideout Shaquan Davis is on the injury list with an undisclosed ailment. If nothing else, they need Kirkwood to help keep reps moving on time at practice.

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Dennis Allen shares updates on multiple Saints injuries

Dennis Allen shared updates on multiple injured Saints players after Sunday’s loss, including Derek Carr, Michael Thomas, and Marshon Lattimore:

We received a mix of good news and bad news on New Orleans Saints players who were injured in Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings; head coach Dennis Allen shared updates on everyone’s status after the team returned to New Orleans and completed further medical evaluations at the team facility on Monday.

Here’s what we learned about Derek Carr, Michael Thomas, and Marshon Lattimore:

Report: Saints ‘played it safe’ with Michael Thomas knee injury

Report: Saints ‘played it safe’ with Michael Thomas, wide receiver avoided serious knee injury vs. Vikings

Here’s some good news: New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas avoided a serious knee injury in Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill, who adds that the Saints chose to “play it safe” with Thomas and keep him on the sidelines after evaluating him. That makes sense given his injury history, the state of the game, and a bye week promising extra rest coming up next.

And fewer snaps for Thomas meant more opportunities for rookie wideout A.T. Perry, who responded appropriately. Perry’s first NFL reception gained 23 yards and converted a first down. His second catch scored a 13-yard touchdown. He’s doing everything he can to earn the trust of his quarterbacks and coaches, even if he’s got room to improve; Perry dropped a pass late in the game when a Vikings defender hit him at the catch point.

But let’s keep the focus on Thomas. He lost years of his prime to a series of complicated ankle injuries, but he’s already played his most snaps (490) since his record-setting 2019 campaign (942). He may not be the superstar receiver he once was, but he’s been an important player for the Saints this season and the offense is better with him in the lineup. It’s early but signs point to Thomas being available when the Saints regroup after their bye week.

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Studs and Duds from Saints’ 27-19 loss to the Vikings

Studs and Duds from Saints’ 27-19 loss to the Vikings

It was too little too late, but you can’t say the New Orleans Saints didn’t try and rally back against the Minnesota Vikings in Sunday’s 27-19 loss. The defense fought hard in the second half and the offense made enough plays to cut into a huge first-half deficit. They showed some grit in the face of adversity with injuries stacking up. It just wasn’t enough to steal a win.

But who made a difference on Sunday afternoon — for good or bad? Who stood out for positive and negative reasons? Let’s break down this week’s Studs and Duds:

Vikings vs. Saints live updates during Week 10

Join us throuhghout the game as we bring you live updates throughout

The Minnesota Vikings are set to take on the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon.

Throughout the game, join us as we update you throughout the game with our live blog.

WATCH: A.T. Perry scores a touchdown on his second NFL reception

WATCH: Rookie receiver A.T. Perry scored a touchdown on his second NFL reception, with Jameis Winston at QB

Whew. Why were the New Orleans Saints keeping A.T. Perry on the bench again? The rookie draft pick stepped up in a huge moment against the Minnesota Vikings after Michael Thomas left the game with a knee injury, catching his first pass in the NFL to gain 23 yards.

Then the Saints called his number again, with Jameis Winston filling in for the injured Derek Carr. Winston threw a fastball to Perry in the end zone for his second career reception — and a much-needed touchdown to cut into Minnesota’s deficit.

Perry’s talents were obvious on his Wake Forest game tape, but the Saints had him working his way up the depth chart as a blocking specialist. It didn’t help that he played the same role in college as Thomas has in the NFL, so there weren’t many opportunities for him so long as the veteran was in the lineup. Here’s hoping he can continue to make the most of the chances he does get.

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