Tag: jordan howden

Tampa Bay is without two starters on final Saints-Bucs injury report

Tampa Bay is without two starters on final Saints-Bucs injury report ahead of Week 17’s matchup

The New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have released the final injury report ahead of their Week 17 matchup.

Few surprises on the report for the Saints, with Ryan Ramczyk and Lonnie Johnson being the only two players listed out. Jordan Howden was upgraded to a full participant in practice on Friday. Alvin Kamara made his first appearance on the injury report this week as he missed practice on Friday with an illness.

An interesting story to watch will be the punter situation for New Orleans. Like Kamara, Lou Hedley missed practice on Friday with an illness and was listed as questionable. Hedley is the team’s only punter and Blake Grupe does not have punting experience.

For the Buccaneers, five players are listed as out for this game. Noteworthy abscesses will be star pass rusher Shaquil Barrett and starting cornerback Carlton Davis. Tight end Ko Kieft, wide receiver Rakim Jarrett and defensive tackle Mike Greene are also listed as out. Wide receiver Chris Godwin returned to practice on Friday and looks good to go for Sunday’s matchup.

Here is the full injury report for this week:

Ryan Ramczyk (knee) misses another practice on Saints-Bucs injury report

Ryan Ramczyk (knee) misses another practice on the updated Saints-Bucs injury report:

There isn’t much good news on Thursday’s update for the New Orleans Saints injury report. While rookie safety Jordan Howden (illness) returned to practice after resting on Wednesday, starting right tackle Ryan Ramczyk (knee) and veteran safety Lonnie Johnson (knee) were still missing. It isn’t looking good for either of them as we approach Sunday’s matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who could be without top defenders Carlton Davis (concussion) and Shaquil Barrett (groin).

If there’s a silver lining, it’s that several young draft picks are practicing on a limited basis for the Saints after having missed some time with injuries. Rookies Isaiah Foskey (quadricep) and Kendre Miller (ankle) have both been active this week, and defensive end Payton Turner (toe) is progressing well in his return from injured reserve. Win or lose, it would be great to see something positive from the three of them down the stretch.

Here’s a quick look at Thursday’s injury report from both teams:

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Rookie safety Jordan Howden (illness) misses practice on first Saints-Bucs injury report

Rookie safety Jordan Howden missed practice with an illness on Wednesday. More from the first Saints-Bucs injury report:

Three players did not practice on Wednesday, per the first New Orleans Saints injury report ahead of Week 17’s pivotal game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The most important absence was right tackle Ryan Ramczyk (knee), who has missed some time dealing with a recurring knee injury. But he’s not the only player not at practice.

Two safeties were unavailable Wednesday — rookie standout Jordan Howden (illness) and veteran backup Lonnie Johnson Jr. (knee). Johnson is expected to miss more time recovering from a recent injury but Howden could return later this week while dealing with an undisclosed illness. It’s worth monitoring their progress closely with Marcus Maye still on injured reserve.

Here’s the initial injury report from both teams to start the week:

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WATCH: Jordan Howden, Pete Werner team up for much-needed takeaway vs. Panthers

WATCH: Jordan Howden, Pete Werner team up for much-needed takeaway vs. Panthers

The New Orleans Saints needed this. Facing the Carolina Panthers offense at midfield, rookie safety Jordan Howden was tasked with blitzing the quarterback — and he did his job well, catching Panthers rookie quarterback  Bryce Young at the top of his drop to jar the ball out of Young’s hand.

And linebacker Pete Werner was in the right spot at the right time to snag the recovery. Initially announced as an interception, the play was reviewed and changed to a sack-fumble for Howden and a fumble recovery for Werner. That’s a small adjustment, but it’s something they’ll be happy to share a laugh over with a win. Let’s see if the Saints can hold onto their league in the second half.

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Saints one of several teams with scouts at Ohio State-Minnesota

The Saints were one of several teams scouting Ohio State-Minnesota. Could they reopen the Buckeyes pipeline in the 2024 draft?

This shouldn’t surprise anyone, but the New Orleans Saints had a scout in the building for Saturday’s college football game between Minnesota and Ohio State, per Eleven Warriors’ Dan Hope.

New Orleans has pulled a lot of talent from Ohio State over the years — some notable names on their current roster include cornerback Marshon Lattimore, linebacker Pete Werner, and wide receivers Chris Olave and Michael Thomas. They also drafted rookie safety Jordan Howden from Minnesota earlier this year, so it’s safe to say the Saints weren’t keeping their attention on just one sideline.

But Ohio State ran away with this one 37-3, and some of their top 2024 draft prospects showed out. Wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (the No. 1-rated player in the upcoming class) had a relatively quiet game, catching 3 passes for 30 yards and a touchdown, while his teammate Emeka Egbuka led the Buckeyes with 5 catches for 83 yards. Running back TreVeyon Henderson gained 146 rushing yards and had two scoring runs on just 15 carries.

Any of them could help the Saints in 2024. Thomas could be a free agent if the Saints don’t work out a new deal with him after the season, and their running game been nothing to write home about. A big-play threat like Henderson could add a lot to their struggling offense. Egbuka could make a lot of sense as a Thomas replacement.

Don’t overlook defensive end JT Tuimoloau, either; the 6-foot-4, 270-pound first-round prospect nails the size thresholds Dennis Allen looks for at the position and he came away with a couple of quarterback pressures and a fumble recovery. Maybe he’s the guy who could take some pressure off Cameron Jordan?

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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:

4 Saints players who need a big game against the Bears

Whether it’s due to a sophomore slump or new opportunities opening up for them, these four Saints players could use a big game against the Bears:

Week 9’s game is a matchup the New Orleans Saints should win handily. A battered, bruised, and bad Chicago Bears team is coming to town with a backup quarterback under center and few weapons around him. But this isn’t a game the Saints can overlook with the bye week off on the horizon.

It’s an important game for several players on their squad. A productive afternoon against the Bears would be great for their stock as the season continues. Whether it’s due to a sophomore slump or too many mental mistakes, a big game would be great to see from these four Saints players:

Saints start rookie safety Jordan Howden, not Marcus Maye, vs. Colts

The Saints shook up their secondary by starting rookie safety Jordan Howden, not Marcus Maye, against the Colts. Maye was questionable to play:

This was a little surprising. The New Orleans Saints shook up their secondary by starting rookie safety Jordan Howden, not Marcus Maye, against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. It meant that most of their rookie draft class was active in a game for the first time this season — everyone but fourth-round quarterback Jake Haener, with sixth-round receiver A.T. Perry finally dressing out.

So what went into that decision? Maye was questionable to play after a hamstring injury limited him throughout the week; he was also listed with an illness on Friday’s injury report. So Maye was watching kickoff from the sidelines while Howden started next to Tyrann Mathieu over the top. When the Saints went into dime personnel (where Howden normally goes into games), versatile defensive back Lonnie Johnson Jr. got the nod.

Much like the case with Andrus Peat a few weeks back coming off an injury, the Saints appear willing to play Maye in an emergency, but they’d rather have him on standby while putting other players into the game. But Howden’s emergence as a starting-quality talent shouldn’t be overlooked. Few teams have drafted and developed defensive backs like New Orleans, and more positive plays from Howden will only open up more opportunities for him.

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Saints safety Jordan Howden among PFF’s highest-graded rookies of Week 5

Jordan Howden has not only been impressive for the Saints, but across the entire 2023 draft class. He was one of PFF’s highest-graded rookies of Week 5:

The New Orleans Saints have had their struggles throughout the start of the season, but one of the bright spots in recent weeks has been rookie defensive back Jordan Howden. Howden was originally selected by the Saints with the 146th overall pick in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL draft out of Minnesota, and Pro Football Focus recognized him as one of their highest-graded rookies coming out of Week 5.

Howden had a solid performance in Week 5’s shutout 34-0 win over the New England Patriots, earning him a place as PFF’s second-highest graded rookie (minimum of 25 snaps) with an overall grade of 86.8.

That put him behind only Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. in the rookies who came away with the highest grades for the week, quite a testament to where Howden stands among NFL players of all positions. The box score has him with a single tackle on the afternoon, but Howden’s biggest play of the game was forcing an interception that played a role in the Saints keeping the momentum through the second half.

 

“I guess, the way the ball was place, it was wither I have to just make a tackle or I was just gonna a have to put my shoulder into his rib,” Howden told reporters after the game. “And then the next (thing) you know, I come out and the ball is out and we’re all celebrating on the sidelines.”

Howden and the Saints will look to keep the momentum rolling as they face the Houston Texans on the road in NRG Stadium at noon CT.

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Marcus Maye reinstated to the Saints’ 53-man roster after serving 3-game suspension

Marcus Maye has been reinstated to the New Orleans Saints’ 53-man roster after serving his three-game suspension. Their secondary just got stronger:

Here’s a big addition to the New Orleans Saints defense: starting free safety Marcus Maye has been reinstated after serving his three-game suspension stemming from a 2021 DUI charge in Florida. The legal proceedings for his case were not concluded until the 2023 preseason, and the NFL has an established precedent of waiting for the legal process to wrap up before issuing its own discipline, so Maye had to wait two years and change teams before being sidelined.

But he’s back now. And he could help a unit that’s already playing at a high level reach even greater heights. Maye is one of seven Saints defenders with an interception this season, having plucked a deflected pass out of the air after cornerback Isaac Yiadom broke it up in the season opener. His return should strengthen an already-stout New Orleans secondary.

Expect the various responsibilities for players around him to revert to what they were prior to his suspension; rookie draft pick Jordan Howden will step back into his role as the team’s dime defensive back, with Johnathan Abram remaining on the practice squad after exhausting his three game-day activations. If the Saints want to continue playing Abram, they’ll have to sign him to the 53-man roster. Odds are strong that they’ll wait until they need him to do that with Maye back in the fold.

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