Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
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 rule out just two players on final injury report for Week 10 vs. Vikings
It’s rare to see the New Orleans Saints this healthy at midseason, but they’ve ruled out just two players for Week 10’s game with the Minnesota Vikings: rookies Kendre Miller (ankle) and Isaiah Foskey (quad), neither of whom have made their way into the starting lineup. One other player, fullback Adam Prentice (knee), is questionable.
So they’re looking remarkably healthy, especially compared to the Vikings. Minnesota ruled out just one player (rookie quarterback Jaren Hall, with a concussion) five others are questionable and a sixth player is doubtful for Sunday’s matchup. All-star wide receiver Justin Jefferson is questionable, too, but he isn’t expected to play while continuing to recover from a hamstring injury.
See for yourself on the final Week 10 injury report:
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Reports: Saints rookie Isaiah Foskey dealing with quad strain injury, likely to miss Vikings game and return after Week 11 bye
This is a bummer. New Orleans Saints rookie defensive end Isaiah Foskey suffered a quadriceps muscle injury early in Sunday’s win over the Chicago Bears, per multiple reports. NewOrleans.Football’s Brooke Kirchhofer shares that the Saints believe Foskey pulled a quad muscle on the game’s opening kickoff. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler adds that it is a “low-grade quad strain” that could sideline Foskey for the Saints’ upcoming road game with the Minnesota Vikings, but he should be back after the following bye week.
He tried to play through it, but Foskey left the game after Paulson Adebo’s interception midway through the first quarter. The Saints initially said that he was questionable to return before later ruling out an in-game return.
Foskey has been coming on well in recent weeks while competing for snaps behind Cameron Jordan and Carl Granderson, so any time missed is going to hinder his development. The good news is that his return could coincide with Payton Turner’s possible activation from injured reserve.
Turner suffered a turf toe injury in the season-opener back in September and is expected to return as soon as Weeks 12 or 13, after the bye week. So the Saints could be adding Foskey (the No. 40 overall pick in this year’s draft) and Turner (the No. 28 pick in the 2021 draft) back to the defensive ends rotation for the back half of the season. That should be welcome news for a Saints pass rush unit that’s tied for the fourth-fewest sacks (17) in the league after nine games.
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The Saints made a move to account for Payton Turner’s injury, promoting practice squad DE Kyle Phillips to their 53-man roster. It doesn’t bode well for Isaiah Foskey:
The New Orleans Saints made a couple of moves to account for Payton Turner’s injury including the promotion of practice squad defensive end Kyle Phillips to their 53-man roster, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. They also reportedly signed veteran free agent Terrell Lewis to take Phillips’ spot on the practice squad.
It doesn’t bode well for Isaiah Foskey, the team’s rookie second-round pick out of Notre Dame. The young defensive end progressed each week in preseason but was still playing behind more-experienced teammates, and he was a healthy scratch in Week 1’s win over the Tennessee Titans (along with most of the team’s draft class). Foskey may still be a ways off from being thrown into a game even in a reserve role behind Cameron Jordan, Carl Granderson, and Tanoh Kpassagnon.
As for Phillips: the 6-foot-4, 277 pounder has appeared in 29 games in his pro career and memorably helped seal a win for the Saints in their first preseason game with a very clutch interception against the Kansas City Chiefs. But he continued to make plays in run defense while generating a couple of pressures throughout the exhibition series, so they must feel he’s a better option to roster than Niko Lalos, who remains on the practice squad with the recently-signed Lewis.
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The Saints Week 1 inactive players are headlined by their rookie class, including Kendre Miller and Isaiah Foskey. Here’s the
full list:
Both the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans head into the season opener without many injuries. The Saints had their shortest injury report in years this week. The Saints have already ruled out Tre’Quan Smith. That’s no surprise as he hasn’t practiced since suffering a groin injury earlier in training camp. J.T. Gray was also ruled out with a shoulder injury. Rookie Kendre Miller hasn’t participated all week due to a hamstring injury, but was labeled as questionable.
The Titans only had one player ruled out during the week of practice, cornerback Tre Avery. All other players on their injury report were upgraded to full participants before the week was over.
Here are the final inactives:
WATCH: Top Saints draft picks Isaiah Foskey, Bryan Bresee team up for preseason sack vs. Texans
When your first and second-round picks in the 2023 Draft team up for the sack >>>>>
đź“ş FOX pic.twitter.com/fQ1w6RJvwi
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) August 28, 2023
The New Orleans Saints saw a flash of what will hopefully be one of many highlights of their two top selections from the 2023 NFL draft as Bryan Bresee and Isaiah Foskey team up for a sack against the Houston Texans in the preseason finale.
Bresee has had a great preseason so far, while not logging a ton of stats he has made his presence known in each game so far. He looks like a very promising pass rusher. Foskey hasn’t had the same success but has steadily improved in every appearance so far, logging his first career tackle last week. Niko Lalos was also involved in the play as he puts some finishing touches on his preseason after three sacks in the last preseason game.
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The Saints’ starters may sit in the preseason finale vs. the Houston Texans, but there is still plenty of intrigue to be found in Week 3 | @southexclusives
The New Orleans Saints will wrap up the 2023 preseason in the Caesars Superdome versus the Houston Texans. Many people shrug off the end of the preseason, and the majority of the final preseason game, because starters aren’t playing. Don’t be that person.
There is much intrigue to be found from players towards the middle and bottom of the roster. We’ve already broken down the specific players you need to watch in the game. Here are the storylines in the preseason finale versus the Texans:
The Bears have given veteran DE Trevis Gipson permission to seek a trade, and the Saints would be a great landing-spot:
Defensive end Trevis Gipson has received permission from the #Bears to seek a trade, per sources. Gipson had seven sacks in 2021 and could be looking to get back to a 3-4 scheme. pic.twitter.com/6n6MIQsL2p
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) August 26, 2023
This could be a great fit: ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that the Chicago Bears have given veteran defensive end Trevis Gipson permission to seek a trade, and the New Orleans Saints would be a great landing-spot. The fourth-year pro has 10 sacks and 5 forced fumbles through his first three years and 40 games in the NFL, and the Saints don’t have a lot to hang their hats on at defensive end. Gipson’s pressure totals in each of the last two years would have ranked top-five in New Orleans.
Cameron Jordan’s production has slowed down in the final years of his career. Carl Granderson is facing high expectations as a part-time player promoted to the starting lineup. Payton Turner is finally healthy and practicing well but he needs to prove he can sustain it in games. Rookie draft pick Isaiah Foskey doesn’t appear to be in line for a big role this fall, which is typical for Saints defensive ends.
Go further down the depth chart and you’ve got guys like Niko Lalos and Kyle Phillips competing for a spot on the practice squad. Veteran backup Tanoh Kpassagnon has been taking practice reps over guards and centers, helping to bolster the defensive tackles depth chart and find ways to get him on the field. The Saints could use a proven commodity like Gipson.
Gipson, 26, was a fifth-round pick out of Tulsa back in the 2020 draft. He meets the athletic thresholds the Saints look for at 6-foot-3 and 263 pounds, with an unofficial 9.36 Relative Athletic Score. Fowler adds that Gipson “could be looking to get back to a 3-4 scheme” and the Saints have run enough three-man fronts in recent years to keep him happy.
New Orleans lacks a reliable starter on top of the depth chart opposite Jordan. Granderson has had a productive summer, but he’s averaged just 24.7 snaps per game in his career. Gipson has averaged 34.2 snaps per game the last two years in Chicago’s starting lineup. And like Granderson, he’ll be a free agent in 2024. If either of them leave for a new team on a nice contract offer the Saints could get a compensatory draft pick back to balance out what they spent to acquire him.
And there are plenty of snaps to go around. Jordan’s snap count should continue to go down a bit as he continues to age (his 49.4 defensive snaps and 27.3 pass rush reps per game were a career-low), creating opportunities for younger players to get into the game. The Saints could split reps between Granderson and Gipson at the right defensive end spot while working Turner in as well, which could be wise given his injury history — slowly ramping up his workload to limit his exposure to injury.
Last year the Saints faced about 38 pass attempts per game. If that’s close to what they expect this season, Granderson and Gipson could both easily plan on seeing 15 to 18 pass-rush snaps each week. Turner would get about 10 reps of his own until he’s proven he can handle more. They could also each occasionally line up on the left side along with Kpassagnon and Foskey, if he’s active, in relief of Jordan.
There’s room for Gipson on the depth chart. The Saints have enough salary cap space to afford him (he’s owed about $2.7 million this year) and it shouldn’t take a hefty package of draft picks to get him out of Chicago. But the coaching staff has expressed a lot of optimism in what Granderson and Turner can do together opposite Jordan, so we’ll have to wait and see whether they ultimately make a move.
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Jaylon Smith popped off the screen while Bryan Edwards had some costly penalties. 3 risers and 3 fallers from our Saints preseason stock watch | @southexclusives
The New Orleans Saints have one more week of preseason action remaining and are looking to end with a perfect 3-0 record. Before moving forward, let’s take a look back on Sunday’s game versus the Los Angeles Chargers. The Saints came out of the matchup victorious. Within the matchup, there were some standout players for good and bad reasons.
Let’s break down the players who rose their stock and the players who dropped their stock with their performance in Week 2 versus the Los Angeles Chargers.
What are your keys for the Irish to make the CFP?
For many year two head coaches, that’s the season when it all comes together and guess what? [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag]’s [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] is about to start his second full season in South Bend.
The expectations are extremely high, especially considering the Irish finally have a quarterback that can lead them to a title in [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag]. The recruiting has seen an uptick in the Freeman era, while player development is also on the same trajectory.
Next is the on-field results and the Irish have an opportunity to return to the College Football Playoff this season, but there are few keys that need to happen for the Irish to play for a title. Find out which five in my eyes are most important.
