Tag: jordan howden

Saints secondary trending up on Thursday injury report vs. Browns

Kool-Aid McKinstry and Jordan Howden stepped up to full participation on Thursday’s New Orleans Saints injury report. The secondary is trending up:

Looking at where the New Orleans Saints injury report used to be on a weekly basis, they’ll take Wednesday’s injury report any day of the week. It was so good that Thursday’s injury report looking nearly identical is still a blessing, especially with the Saints’ history with midweek injuries.

Thursday’s injury report looks very similar, but there are two important changes. Kool-Aid McKinstry and Jordan Howden elevated from limited participants to full participants. The Saints secondary has been ravaged by injuries lately.

Alontae Taylor and Tyrann Mathieu have been the only healthy defensive backs. Howden suffered an injury against the Atlanta Falcons and returned during the game. The return of McKinstry and Howden give New Orleans essentially a full secondary.

Taylor and McKinstry are the future at cornerback. Mathieu is a veteran, but he will likely be on the team in 2025. Howden has been progressing and could be a piece for the future. If these four men are able to stay healthy, it can be a look at multiple foundational pieces in the secondary.

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Will Harris described his injured reserve stint as ‘a long four weeks’

Will Harris played every defensive snap prior to his injury. This week the New Orleans Saints safety makes his return from injured reserve:

For the first time in a month, Tyrann Mathieu and Jordan Howden will be joined by Will Harris, and the New Orleans Saints will have their full compliment of safeties.

It’s been what Harris described as, “A long four weeks.”

Hamstrings have plagued the New Orleans Saints all season long. So much so that New Orleans had to revisit how they begin practice.

Harris was one of many starters to be taken out by the injury. That list includes Marshon Lattimore, Kool-Aid McKinstry and Pete Werner. For the first time since Harris injured his hamstring against the Kansas City Chiefs, the safety will return to the field.

Harris tried to stay as involved as he could during his stint on injured reserve even though he couldn’t get on the field. The safety said, “I try to stay as integral of a piece as possible. I try to incorporate myself in anything I can to help. I’m always around. I try to give them my perspective of what I see.”

At the time that’s all he could do. Prior to the injury, however, Harris was the only defensive player to play every single snap. It’s safe to say he’ll be involved in the defensive game plan next to Mathieu and Howden.

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Injured reserve is a possibility for New Orleans Saints starting safety

Injured reserve is a possibility for Saints starting safety Will Harris. He was the team’s only defender to play 100% of snaps through the first four games:

The New Orleans Saints defense took a hit when starting safety Will Harris went down with a hamstring injury in Monday night’s game with the Kansas City Chiefs, and he missed the next two days of practice recovering from that ailment.

But he isn’t trending in the right direction. On Wednesday, head coach Dennis Allen said that Harris is a candidate for injured reserve because of this hamstring injury. Assuming it isn’t an automatic season-ending diagnosis, he would be eligible to return after four weeks — missing upcoming games with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers, and Carolina Panthers. That’s assuming he won’t need surgery and be out longer.

Either way, it was a big loss. Harris was the only player on the team who had been on the field for 100% of the Saints’ snaps on defense through their first four games. That’s more than Demario Davis, Tyrann Mathieu, and other big names like Chase Young, Marshon Lattimore, and Cameron Jordan. They were lucky to have already called up Johnathan Abram from the practice squad so he could fill in.

In the meantime, the Saints are left with Mathieu, Jordan Howden and J.T. Gray on the 53-man roster with Abram and Millard Bradford on the practice squad. Abram can be elevated for two more games before he’ll need to sign with the 53-man roster to keep playing, but they may just sign him now to ensure he’ll be in the lineup. Stay tuned.

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Dennis Allen on playing a practice squad safety over second-year draft pick

When Will Harris suffered an injury, it was Johnathan Abram who took the majority of the snaps next to Tyrann Mathieu, not Jordan Howden:

Johnathan Abram has spent the entirety of the season so far on the New Orleans Saints practice squad. He was a game-day elevation for the first time against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Due to a Will Harris injury, Abram ended up seeing the field for 56 snaps next to Tyrann Mathieu. These are snaps that would have went to Jordan Howden in any other game, but Abram ended with 46 more snaps than Howden Monday night.

Dennis Allen explained the decision on Tuesday, saying, “In that environment, in that situation, I thought he was the right person to put in the game.”

Harris’ injury upped the snap count, but there was an inclination Abram would see the field. Mathieu and Harris are your lead safeties, but Abram seemed prime to usurp Howden for the third safety role.

Howden hasn’t performed great during his time in the game and his snap count fluctuated from game to game. Abram was a player the Saints liked last year, and Allen referenced that Tuesday. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Abram be elevated to the main roster permanently soon.

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Saints safety Will Harris (hamstring) ruled OUT vs. Chiefs

Saints safety Will Harris suffered a hamstring injury in the second quarter and has been ruled out for the rest of the Chiefs game:

The New Orleans Saints have ruled Will Harris out for the rest of the game versus the Kansas City Chiefs. Coming into the game, Harris was the only player on the Saints defense to have played every snap this season. This obviously won’t be the case any longer.

Harris suffered a hamstring injury trying to catch Xavier Worthy after a catch. Harris pulled up and went down on the Chiefs sideline. After staying down for a bit, he was able to get up and walk across the field under his own power.

The Saints brought Jonathan Abram up from the practice squad for this matchup. Since Harris’ injury, it has been Abram who has stepped up in his place instead of Jordan Howden.

There was an expectation that Abram would see the field over Howden. Harris injury expedited his snaps and enlarged his role. Abram started next to Tyrann Mathieu last year so the duo already have chemistry together.

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Tyrann Mathieu banged up vs. Falcons, now dealing with groin and heel injuries

Tyrann Mathieu was nicked up against the Falcons. He’s now dealing with a groin injury after a heel issue limited him in previous games.

Tyrann Mathieu exited Sunday’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons with a groin injury, per ESPN’s Katherine Terrell, adding to his list of ailments. The New Orleans Saints safety has already been limited in games with a heel issue, and he also dealt with a calf injury earlier this season.

But this groin injury could be the most serious of the bunch. Starting center Erik McCoy is out six to eight weeks after undergoing core muscle surgery for a similar injury. Hopefully it isn’t as dire aa situation. It’s a good sign that Mathieu observed the rest of the Falcons game from the bench with his teammates rather than moving to the locker room for treatment and further evaluation.

We’ll have to wait and see whether he misses time because of it. Either way, injuries are stacking up for Mathieu. The Saints have built their defense around several older players — Demario Davis, Cameron Jordan, and Mathieu himself — and each of them are either managing an injury or seeing a reduced role due to performance.

So younger teammates need to step up. J.T. Gray was pushed into Sunday’s game after Mathieu left, but he’s better-versed on special teams than defense, and it’s unlikely that’s the long-term goal for replacing Mathieu. Will Harris and Jordan Howden remain on the 53-man roster while Johnathan Abram, Ugo Amadi, and Millard Bradford are available on the practice squad. Whether any of them are called up for a bigger role is something to monitor in the days ahead.

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Dennis Allen’s defense hasn’t learned how to close out tight games

The Saints’ struggles to keep offenses out of scoring position late in games was on full display against the Falcons, but this problem traces back to 2022:

For the second week in the row, the New Orleans Saints defense had a chance to close out a game and failed. This is beginning to feel like a regular occurrence for them, and this is one of those times the eye test and statistics tell the same story.

Whether it’s a Paulson Adebo pass interference penalty or Jordan Howden running into Marshon Lattimore for a coverage bust, the Saints defense has struggled to close the game. Dennis Allen’s unit is supposed to be the strength of the team, but they’ve failed in the biggest moments. Holding onto these late leads is a weakness of the unit. Costing the Saints’ victories in back-to-back weeks has brought the weakness to the forefront.

But the trend extends beyond the past two weeks. Since Allen was promoted  to head coach, the Saints are 0-4 when opponents start drives between 2:30 and 1:00 left in regulation while leading by 6 points or fewer. The last two games fall in this category, and the defense faltered in two similar situations in 2022.

The situations vary in those four games. There have been times where the opponent needed a touchdown to win and times where a field goal sealed the deal. Against the Bengals in 2022, the Saints gave up a touchdown on the first play of the drive.

Regardless of the situation or score, the Saints defense has never stood tall under Allen’s leadership. He may coach up a strong defense for 58 minutes, but he hasn’t taught them to be clutch for the final 120 seconds.

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Saints release unofficial depth chart for Week 2 at Cowboys

The Saints released their unofficial depth chart for Week 2’s game with the Cowboys, and there’s one big change from the roster they shared one week ago:

The New Orleans Saints released their unofficial depth chart for Week 2’s road game with the Dallas Cowboys, and there’s one notable change from the initial roster they shared one week ago.

It’s Will Harris starting at strong safety next too Tyrann Matheiu, not Jordan Howden. That lines up with what we saw in their season-opening in over the Carolina Panthers. Harris didn’t just open the game as a starter and intercept Bryce Young on the game’s first play from scrimmage. He was the only Saints defender to stay on the field for every defensive snap.

Beyond that, things are largely the same. The Saints are still using the “or” designation at backup quarterback for Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler, though it was Rattler relegated to the NFL-mandated role as their emergency quarterback in Week 1. After the game head coach Dennis Allen said that role could change from week to week as both young passers compete for the job as QB2.

There’s one other position where the Saints are using the “or” designation. Carl Granderson and Chase Young are listed as co-starters at right defensive end. What’s interesting is we didn’t see that reflected in Week 1. Granderson lined up on the right side for just 11 of his 40 defensive snaps, per Pro Football Focus charting. It was Young dominating snaps on the right side, where he played all 37 snaps. That’s a reversal from last season when Granderson played 846 of his 870 defensive snaps on the right side of the line. Cameron Jordan is the listed starter at the left defensive end spot but he only took 22 of his 27 snaps there.

So this is a good reminder that this is very much an unofficial depth chart for reference purposes, not a set-in-stone pecking order. The Saints will continue to move players around so they can put guys in what they feel is the best position to make a play. Here’s the full thing:

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Saints share unofficial depth chart for Week 1 vs. Panthers

The New Orleans Saints shared their unofficial depth chart for Week 1’s kickoff game with the Carolina Panthers:

The New Orleans Saints shared their unofficial depth chart for Week 1’s kickoff game with the Carolina Panthers. What’s new? What checks out based on what we’ve seen over the summer? Here’s our first look.

There aren’t too many surprises, but a few things do stand out. Foster Moreau and Taysom Hill are listed as the starters at tight end, ahead of Juwan Johnson. That makes sense given how much time he missed this offseason recovering from foot surgery.

On the other side of the ball, it’s Jordan Howden projected to start at safety next to Tyrann Mathieu, not Will Harris or Johnathan Abram, who both played ahead of him throughout the preseason.

And there are two positions hit with the controversial “or” designation: defensive end and quarterback. Either Carl Granderson or Chase Young is penciled in to start across from Cameron Jordan, while the backup quarterback will be either Jake Haener or Spencer Rattler.

In the former case, it’s probably a situation where the Saints don’t want to ruffle anyone’s feathers and label either deserving veteran the starting right defensive end. In the latter case, they want the young quarterbacks to keep pushing each other and prove why they should be the next man up if Derek Carr has to miss any time.

Now with that said, it’s important to remember this depth chart is unofficial and created by the media relations staff, not the coaches or anyone in the front office. It’s a projection not a set-in-stone lineup. What we see on Sunday may look different but the broad strokes should remain the same. See for yourself, and remember that starters’ names are emboldened while rookies are underlined:

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Saints list Jordan Howden as starting safety on unofficial depth chart

If the New Orleans Saints go by their unofficial depth chart, Jordan Howden will start next to Tyrann Mathieu

The strength of the New Orleans Saints is the secondary. The strength of the team has one vacancy and it’s quickly becoming one of the more confusing spots on the team.

Marshon Lattimore and Paulson Adebo are starting at outside corner and Alontae Taylor is in the slot. Kool-Aid McKinstry provides depth at both positions. Tyrann Mathieu is starting at free safety, but who will be next to him?

The preseason would tell you Will Harris. The head coach, Dennis Allen, would tell you that he won’t tell you. The unofficial depth chart would tell you Jordan Howden. Johnathan Abram being called up from the practice squad wouldn’t even surprise me at this point.

Howden is listed as the starting strong safety on the Saints’ unofficial depth chart for Week 1. That’s a surprise because he seemed to be running third in the race for strong safety.

https://twitter.com/RossJacksonNOLA/status/1831037133974585485

Surprises happen, but that’s not the confusing part. Harris is listed as a free safety behind Mathieu. It just doesn’t add up with what we had been seeing alignment-wise.

It’s important to remember it is unofficial. Harris and Howden will likely see time in Week 1 at strong safety. Who gets the start will be noteworthy, but who gets the most snaps will tell the true story.