Tag: adam prentice

Saints re-sign Adam Prentice for a training camp fullback competition

Big news at the official start of free agency. The Saints re-signed Adam Prentice for a training camp fullback competition:

Here’s some big news at the formal start of free agency. The New Orleans Saints announced they have re-signed fullback Adam Prentice, who is returning for a training camp competition with Zander Horvath — who was recently signed as a veteran respected by members of Klint Kubiak’s new offensive coaching staff.

So it’ll be Prentice versus Horvath over the summer. It makes sense to bring Prentice back so he can compete for his roster spot because he knows the other players inn the locker room well, but he’ll have to prove he can execute the blocking assignments and responsibilities asked off fullbacks in Kubiak’s system. He had a rough year with the Saints last season that included dropped passes and a very unfortunate fumble deep inside New Orleans territory.

Now that the NFL calendar has officially turned over into 2024, the Saints have a number of vulnerabilities to address with their roster. Kubiak wants to run the football often and effectively and improved blocking up front will do a lot to achieve that. His system asks a lot of the fullback so Prentice will need to show a wider set of skills than we’ve seen from him before. It’s just one more subplot to watch in the months ahead.

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Saints sign a new fullback, but he isn’t new to their coaching staff

The Saints signed a new fullback, but he isn’t new to their coaching staff. Meet Zander Horvath:

The New Orleans Saints signed a new fullback, but he isn’t new to their coaching staff. Meet Zander Horvath, formerly of Purdue, whose addition was announced on Thursday’s update to the daily NFL transactions wire.

Horvath, 25, played college football at Purdue before turning pro with the Los Angeles Chargers, who picked him in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL draft. He measured out exceptionally well in the pre-draft process with a 9.83 Relative Athletic Score (a metric which often lines up with attributes the Saints value). He weighed in at 6-foot-2 and 228 pounds but has been listed at 232 and 235 with different teams.

Former Chargers running backs coach Derrick Foster worked with him closely in L.A., so there’s an obvious connection with Foster holding the same position on staff these days in New Orleans. Horvath was waived during roster cuts last August and briefly landed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the Chargers brought him back to their practice squad to close out the season. He wasn’t re-signed after that.

He wasn’t the only player the Saints tried out on Thursday; the wire also reports 232-pound running back Qadree Ollison as a participant. He’s a former Atlanta Falcons draft pick (fifth round in 2019) who was teammates with Horvath on the Steelers for a few months last season. The Saints must have liked what they saw from Horvath better.

This might mean the end of the road for Adam Prentice. The incumbent Saints fullback is a restricted free agent but he’s coming off a down year with dropped passes, blown blocking assignments, and a very unfortunate fumble. Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is going to be asking different things of his fullback than Pete Carmichael asked of Prentice last season, so they might look for someone else to push Horvath for the job in training camp.

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Saints bring up two players from their practice squad for Week 13 vs. Lions

The New Orleans Saints brought up some reinforcements from their practice squad for Week 13’s game with the Detroit Lions in a pair of standard elevations:

The New Orleans Saints brought up some reinforcements from their practice squad for Week 13’s game with the Detroit Lions in a pair of standard elevations, giving wide receiver Marquez Callaway and fullback Adam Prentice an opportunity to return to the lineup.

Callaway was recently re-signed after a knee injury put Michael Thomas out of action for at least the next four games. He’s experienced in the system, having started his pro career in New Orleans, though he spent the summer with Sean Payton on the Denver Broncos.

Rashid Shaheed (thigh) has also been ruled out with an injury and Chris Olave (concussion protocol) is questionable for this game, so the receivers we know the Saints will have available include Callaway, A.T. Perry, Keith Kirkwood, and Lynn Bowden Jr.

As for Prentice: the fullback spent some time on injured reserve earlier this season and returned to be bumped down to the practice squad. He’s already been elevated once so the Saints can call him up like this one more time before they’ll need to sign him to the 53-man roster again if they want to continue playing him. As is the case for Callaway, Prentice will revert to the practice squad after Sunday’s game with the Lions.

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Fullback Adam Prentice re-signs with the Saints practice squad after whirlwind week

Fullback Adam Prentice re-signed with the New Orleans Saints practice squad after a whirlwind week. So much for a restful bye week:

The bye week is supposed to be restful, but that hasn’t been Adam Prentice’s experience. The fullback re-signed with the New Orleans Saints practice squad after a whirlwind week that saw him activated from injured reserve, active for his first game in a month, and then waived days later — only to clear waivers and re-sign with the team, which the Saints announced on the daily NFL transactions wire.

Prentice, 26, has had a unique career. He played college football at Colorado State and South Carolina before signing with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2021; they waived him after training camp and the Saints picked him up, and he’s been their go-to option at fullback ever since. He experienced some uncharacteristic struggles early this season with an untimely fumble and some dropped passes, and he missed four games with a knee injury before being cleared to return.

Now he’s back on the practice squad and is eligible to be elevated for three games before returning to the 53-man roster. But how big of a role will he play? Nose tackle Khalen Saunders has taken some valuable snaps at fullback in the Saints’ red zone package in recent weeks, and Prentice saw just one snap on offense in his first game back against the Vikings (though he logged a dozen reps on special teams). We’ll have to wait and see what the plan is for him coming out of the bye week.

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Saints’ worst offensive players through Week 10, per PFF

It’s no secret that the New Orleans Saints’ strengths are not in their offense, and the player grades at Pro Football Focus reflect that. Here are the 10 lowest:

It’s no secret that the New Orleans Saints’ strengths are not in their offense. Derek Carr’s unit has underperformed this season and struggled with everything from an abundance of false start penalties to poorly-run routes and lapses in pass protection. It’s been a problem through ten games.

And the Saints player grades at Pro Football Focus reflect that. Here are the 10 lowest-graded players at the bye week:

Saints waive fullback Adam Prentice days after activating him from injured reserve

Saints waive fullback Adam Prentice days after activating him from injured reserve

Well that’s odd. The New Orleans Saints waived fullback Adam Prentice just days after they activated him from injured reserve, burning one of the eight slots teams are allowed to use in season in designated players to return from an injury.

Prentice was active for Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings, though he played just one snap on offense and a dozen on special teams with the kick return and punt coverage units. He’ll likely re-sign with the practice squad after being let go, but stay tuned. He was waived from the 53-man roster to open a spot for wide receiver Keith Kirkwood.

It’s frustrating to burn one of those eight return slots on a player who was waived just days later, but it’s not that big of a deal given the Saints’ current circumstances. The only player on injured reserve right now who is even eligible to return is defensive end Payton Turner, who is still weeks away from being able to practice.

And with just seven weeks left in the regular season, the window for players to go on injured reserve, sit out four weeks while recovering, and then open a three-week phase in which to practice and be activated is shrinking.

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Saints activate fullback Adam Prentice from injured reserve for Week 10 vs. Vikings

Saints activate fullback Adam Prentice from injured reserve for Week 10 vs. Vikings

This was expected: the New Orleans Saints activated fullback Adam Prentice from injured reserve for Week 10’s game with the Minnesota Vikings, the team announced Saturday, bringing back their preferred lead blocker.

Prentice suffered a knee injury in Week 5’s win over the New England Patriots and had been on the mend ever since, but he was able to return to practice this week and should play on Sunday.

What does that mean for Khalen Saunders? The charismatic nose tackle has quickly become a fan-favorite in New Orleans for his work on the other side of the ball, lining up in the backfield at fullback and paving the way for his teammates in short-yardage situations. Saunders will likely see his workload go down offensively, but he’s very much an asset, so don’t look for him to disappear altogether.

And the Saints completed a corresponding roster move to bring up Prentice by waiving veteran wide receiver Keith Kirkwood. Kirkwood mainly worked as a run-blocker out in space earlier this season but saw his reps steadily eroded by players like Lynn Bowden Jr. and rookie draft pick A.T. Perry, who is still searching for his first regular season target. There’s a good chance Kirkwood signs with the Saints practice squad should he clear waivers; undrafted rookie Shaquan Davis is still on the injury list with an undisclosed ailment.

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Analyzing final Vikings injury report vs. Saints

The Vikings are getting healthier heading into the stretch run

The Minnesota Vikings are set to take on the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon with Josh Dobbs getting his first start for the franchise.

Throughout the week, the injury report saw multiple names on it with significant starters in limbo for Sunday’s game.

The final injury report is out and the Vikings injury report is extensive.

Saints designate fullback Adam Prentice to return from injured reserve

The New Orleans Saints have designated fullback Adam Prentice to return from injured reserve:

The New Orleans Saints designated fullback Adam Prentice to return from injured reserve this week, leaving them with six more slots to do so. NFL teams are allowed to bring back up to eight players from injured reserve each season, so Prentice is the second to do so after running back Jamaal Williams was sidelined earlier this year.

Prentice went down with a knee injury after a rough start to his season, dropping a critical pass and fumbling deep inside New Orleans’ territory during Week 4’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Still, it’s a positive that he’s able to return from injury and try to turn things around. He’ll have three weeks to practice and prove he’s healthy and able to play on Sundays.

With that said, it’s worth asking if it’s worth spending one of those few return slots on him. The Saints could have flown in some free agent fullbacks for tryouts after Prentice’s season started so poorly and waived him with an injury settlement, as they did with Tre’Quan Smith. Nose tackle Khalen Saunders has emerged as a legitimate asset in short-yardage situations in Prentice’s old role, too, paving the way as a blocker and commanding attention as a receiving threat. But Prentice won the job in training camp and they’re determined to ride with him further.

On the other hand, the Saints aren’t hurting for return slots as it is. Just one other player is on injured reserve right now with the possibility of returning later this year: defensive end Payton Turner, who is still a ways off from activation after early-season foot surgery. With half the regular season already behind them and so few players on injured reserve (an objectively good thing!), the Saints can afford a small luxury like bringing back Prentice. Let’s hope he justifies that decision with a positive impact down the stretch.

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Initial Saints injury report has few surprises for Week 10 vs. Vikings

Saints vs. Vikings: Few surprises on first Week 10 injury report

There weren’t many surprises on the initial New Orleans Saints injury report ahead of Week 10’s game with the Minnesota Vikings.

Two veteran players were limited with their usual rest days — right tackle Ryan Ramczyk and tight end Jimmy Graham — while two rookies who exited last week’s win over the Chicago Bears with injuries were held out of practice. Running back Kendre Miller is dealing with a sprained ankle while defensive end Isaiah Foskey is managing a strained quadriceps muscle.

But there’s good news: the Saints listed a few players as full participants at Wednesday’s practice session while receiving treatment for injuries. Middle linebacker Demario Davis is still managing a knee issue that has limited him in recent weeks, and special teams ace Ty Summers (another linebacker) saw full practice reps after clearing concussion protocol and recovering from a hamstring issue. Barring a setback, they should both travel and play against Minnesota.

Additionally, both teams opened the 21-day window for players on injured reserve to return to practice, though we’ll have to wait and see whether Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson or Saints fullback Adam Prentice will be able to make a go of it on Sunday. The Vikings only held a walkthrough practice on Wednesday so their participation levels were estimated by the team training staff.

Here’s what you need to know from the week’s first injury report:

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