Sean Payton won’t be watching Colin Kaepernick’s workout

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton won’t watch Colin Kaepernick’s workout. He’s happy with Drew Brees, Teddy Bridgewater, and Taysom Hill.

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The NFL is hurrying to put together a Saturday workout for free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who ranks twenty-third in career passing rating in NFL history but hasn’t had a team in almost three years despite training five days a week to remain game-ready. Count New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton in the camp who isn’t interested in what Kaepernick has to offer.

“I won’t pay attention because it isn’t a need for us,” Payton said during his Thursday conference call with New Orleans media, hours before Saints practice. The Saints do have depth at quarterback that would envy any team around the league; Drew Brees is one of the greatest passers of all time, while Teddy Bridgewater proved to be a starting-quality fill-in during Brees’ absence. Taysom Hill rounds out the group as someone who has made strides early in his career.

However, that depth may be temporary. None of those three quarterbacks are under contract after this season, with Brees and Bridgewater both eligible for unrestricted free agency. Hill is designated as a restricted free agent, which is a little more complicated but doesn’t guarantee he’ll return.

Payton and the Saints would be wise to evaluate all available options, but in this case they’re hedging their bets that their quarterbacks depth chart should look much the same even after new contracts for Brees, Bridgewater, and Hill are drawn up.

Now, it doesn’t mean that the Saints won’t have someone in attendance to observe Kaepernick’s workout. Payton being disinterested doesn’t mean they won’t assign a scout or personnel executive to check in. Payton previously voiced support for Kaepernick’s ability to compete in the NFL despite a prolonged absence.

“It is a little surprising that he is still available, and I don’t think he will be available too long,” Payton said back in May 2017. “I think the key is the fit and the vision for a club offensively but I think there will be a team that has that vision and has an offense that builds around some of the things he does well.”

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Saints designate Keith Kirkwood to return from injured reserve

The New Orleans Saints started a 21-day countdown for wide receiver Keith Kirkwood to practice with the team and return from injured reserve

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Reinforcements might be on the way for the New Orleans Saints wide receiver corps. Second-year pro Keith Kirkwood practiced on Wednesday, hours after Saints coach Sean Payton commended his progress in recovering from an early-season hamstring injury. Kirkwood has been on the shelf since hurting himself in pregame warmups back in Week 2, but the Saints designated him to return from injured reserve on the official league transactions wire.

This starts the clock on a 21-day window for Kirkwood to practice and be promoted to the 53-man roster, or else revert to the injured reserve list. It’s unclear which game the Saints are targeting in-house for him to make his return, though the earliest he’d be eligible would be Week 13’s game with the Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 28, per NFL rules.

If Kirkwood is able to suit up again this season, it’s easy to see how he could help the team. They have a wide-open void at the wide receiver position opposite Michael Thomas, who has caught 86 of the groups’ 116 receptions this year. The Saints weren’t able to find any last-minute upgrades at the NFL trade deadline, so Kirkwood might be their last remaining hope for to receiving corps to suddenly improve.

Teams are allowed to bring back two players from injured reserve each season, though it’s tough to say which Saints players may qualify. We can parse the list down a bit, however, because NFL rules stipulate only players who started the year on the 53-man roster may return from injured reserve later that season. That excludes most of the players on the list, which you can find below:

C/G Cameron Tom (ineligible)
LB Alex Anzalone
LB Kaden Elliss
LB Colton Jumper (ineligible)
LB Josh Martin (ineligible)
TE Garrett Griffin (ineligible)
WR Keith Kirkwood (designated to return)

Payton said earlier this year that starting middle linebacker Alex Anzalone would miss the rest of the season after shoulder surgery, so he won’t be a candidate. That leaves rookie linebacker Kaden Elliss as the only option left, but he tore his ACL on Sept. 22. There’s no way he’ll be recovered from that in time to play later this season. So don’t expect anyone but Kirkwood to return from injured reserve in 2019.

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What will the Saints do without Andrus Peat?

The New Orleans Saints lost starting guard Andrus Peat for six weeks, putting Will Clapp and Nick Easton in the driver’s seat to replace him

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The New Orleans Saints offensive line took a hit on Wednesday when starting left guard Andrus Peat underwent surgery to repair a broken arm, putting him on the sidelines for about six weeks. So where do they go from here?

Peat’s immediate replacement is backup guard Will Clapp, who filled in for him during Sunday’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Clapp is a second-year player out of LSU with experience at both guard and center, though the Saints prefer him at guard. He allowed a few sacks to the swarming Falcons defense after being rushed into action.

Another name to watch out for is Patrick Omameh, who has been the final active lineman on most game days despite slotting in as a reserve after Clapp. He has started full seasons before at both left and right guard, though he didn’t play at a particularly high level. The experience he does have at starting often in the NFL can’t be undersold.

Additionally, the Saints can try and get some return on the investment they made in free agent blocker Nick Easton. New Orleans inked him to a four-year, $20 million contract earlier this year, though only the first year was guaranteed at the time of signing. However, Easton has been active for just three games this season, limiting his appearances to the special teams units. He obviously didn’t make a great impression on the coaching staff during the offseason.

Other candidates the Saints could look to on their roster include three rookies: Ethan Greenidge (a former left tackle for Villanova who started 43 games), Derrick Kelly (a Florida State product who played 34 games at both tackle and guard), and John Leglue (a local from Tulane who has played all five positions, plus long snapper).

To recap, here is how snap counts have shaken out for each of New Orleans’ offensive linemen through nine games, suggesting something similar to the in-house depth chart:

T Ryan Ramczyk, 609 (100%)
G Larry Warford, 609 (100%)
C Erik McCoy, 603 (99%)
T Terron Armstead, 598 (98%)
G/T Andrus Peat, 527 (86%)
G Will Clapp, 161 (26%)
G Patrick Omameh, 16 (2%)
G/C Nick Easton, inactive
T Ethan Greenidge, inactive
T/G Derrick Kelly, practice squad
T/G John Leglue, practice squad

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Andrus Peat expected to miss six weeks with a broken arm

The New Orleans Saints lost starting left guard Andrus Peat to a broken arm against the Atlanta Falcons, and he’s expected to miss six weeks

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Bad news hit the New Orleans Saints on Wednesday, with ESPN’s Adam Schefter reporting that left guard Andrus Peat suffered a broken arm in Sunday’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Peat went through surgery Wednesday and the team expects him to be sidelined for six weeks, per Schefter’s report. That would put him on the shelf until their Dec. 22 game with the Tennessee Titans.

It’s a big loss for the Saints. Despite his inconsistent level of play, Peat was their best option to start at left guard as well as the immediate backup for left tackle Terron Armstead. He’ll likely be replaced by his own backup, second-year pro Will Clapp, though free-agent signee Nick Easton should also be a candidate to get playing time. Easton has been a healthy scratch in six of nine games after signing a four-year, $20 million contract with New Orleans earlier this year.

It couldn’t come at a worse time for Peat, who is scheduled to test free agency in the spring. The 25-year-old is playing out the fifth-year option of his rookie contract, guaranteeing him $9.625 million in 2019. The sad state of offensive line play around the league means he’ll have plenty of bidders looking to pay him to start at either left tackle or left guard, and probably put him out of New Orleans’ price range even with this injury.

And injury concerns are something that has dogged Peat throughout his career: he’s never played a 16-game season, despite coming close in both 2016 and 2017 with 15 games played in each outing, though his 2017 season ended with a broken leg. He missed three games in 2018 due to a sprained ankle, concussion, and broken hand, but made the Pro Bowl as an alternate. A growing list of injuries, poor positional fits (the Saints tried him out at both tackle and guard on each side of the line before settling at left guard), and a probably-high price tag mean his days in New Orleans may be numbered.

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The 2020 Pro Bowl Ballot has many Saints players, but no Taysom Hill

The 2020 Pro Bowl Ballot features Saints players like Deonte Harris while Demario Davis faces tough sledding and Taysom Hill isn’t an option

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The 2020 Pro Bowl Ballot is up at NFL.com, giving fans the opportunity to vote for their favorite players. However, some notable New Orleans Saints players didn’t make the cut, while others are victims of bad classifications. Here is the list of which players are eligible, organized by offense, defense, and special teams, along with our notes on what the ballot got wrong:

Offense

Quarterbacks: Drew Brees
Running backs: Alvin Kamara, Latavius Murray
Wide receivers: Ted Ginn, Michael Thomas
Fullbacks: Zach Line
Tight ends: Jared Cook
Tackles: Terron Armstead, Ryan Ramczyk
Guards: Andrus Peat, Larry Warford
Centers: Erik McCoy

Where is Taysom Hill? He plays quarterback, fullback, halfback, tight end, slot receiver, and a few other positions we may not even have names for, but he isn’t listed on the ballot. It’s a heck of an oversight considering how often the Saints find opportunities for him to go out there and make a play.

Other than that, this is a solid list of contributors. Be sure to vote for Line at fullback; the Saints are one of the most creative teams in the league at deploying their fullbacks, and his inclusion would be a welcome reward for putting in so much thankless work in the trenches.

Defense

Defensive ends: Marcus Davenport. Cameron Jordan
Defensive tackles: Malcom Brown, Sheldon Rankins
Inside linebackers: Kiko Alonso
Outside linebackers: Demario Davis, A.J. Klein
Cornerbacks: Eli Apple, Marshon Lattimore
Strong safeties: Vonn Bell
Free safeties: Marcus Williams

Rankins must have gotten in off of name recognition, because he’s nowhere near to playing like his old self. He’s played 194 snaps in six games since returning from last year’s Achilles injury, and has picked up one sack and two hits in that time. He hasn’t logged so much as a tackle in his last three games. The Saints are determined to play him over David Onyemata (two sacks and five hits in eight games), but there’s no questioning which of them is more productive, and more deserving of a Pro Bowl nomination.

Alonso may line up as the middle linebacker, but he only plays 25% of snaps. The Saints rotate their linebackers around and juggle their responsibilities so often that Davis could be listed at inside linebacker on the ballot and no one would bat an eye; instead, he’s forced to compete with well-known edge rushers like Von Miller, T.J. Watt, Khalil Mack, and Chandler Jones for recognition. The Pro Bowl ballot badly needs a redesign to reflect different schemes around the league.

Special teams

Kickers: Wil Lutz
Return specialists: Deonte Harris
Punters: Thomas Morstead
Special teamers: Craig Robertson

Robertson is a special teams captain, but he’s not the most prominent member of the coverage units. He’s played 176 snaps on special teams so far, which trails cornerback Justin Hardee (198) for the team lead. Hill was played sparingly in that phase of the game while Brees missed time with his thumb injury, though he’s matched Hardee’s team-leading pace of play when given the green light to go help cover punts and kickoffs. Robertson would also have matched Hardee had he been healthy for the season-opener, so his inclusion isn’t much of a slight to his teammates.

We don’t need to tell you to vote for Harris among the return specialists, but you should make an effort to do that anyway. He’s the only player in the NFL to rack up 200 or more return yards on both punts (232) and kickoffs (309), and the rookie deserves this recognition. Still, hopefully he’ll be preparing for the Super Bowl with his teammates rather than taking in some sun at the Pro Bowl.

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Bucs cut former first-rounder Vernon Hargreaves before Saints game

WR Michael Thomas and the New Orleans Saints will play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers without top CB Vernon Hargreaves, who was released Tuesday.

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a big move at cornerback, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Schefter reported that Tampa Bay cut starting cornerback Vernon Hargreaves, their former first-round pick in 2016 out of Florida. Hargreaves had played the third-most defensive snaps of all Buccaneers this season (582), including 46 snaps last Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. Hargreaves will now go on waivers.

Their pass defense was ranked worst in the league, so some change was inevitable. It’s just strange to outright cut someone who led his position in playing-time at this point in the season, even if Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians benched Hargreaves late in the game for a perceived lack of hustle.

Hargreaves’ release might look as if it’s coming at a strange time, but it makes some sense; at a distant third-place in the NFC South with a 3-6 record, the Buccaneers are shifting their focus towards self-evaluating and figuring out which players will still be here next year. Cutting a former top draft pick sends a clear message that no one is safe, and lacking effort won’t be tolerated.

So what does this mean for the New Orleans Saints? They’re inbound for Tampa Bay, bringing a receiving corps that’s pretty much been a one-man show. Michael Thomas has caught 86 passes this year, while the other wide receivers (Ted Ginn Jr. Tre’Quan Smith, Deonte Harris, and Austin Carr) have combined for 30 receptions. New Orleans has had to get creative in its use of pass-catching tight ends, running backs, fullbacks, and quarterback Taysom Hill to try and pick up the slack.

Sunday should be another big game for Thomas. He dropped a season-high 182 receiving yards on Tampa Bay in their last meeting inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, outmuscling every defensive back they tried to assign to him. And he did that with Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback. Without Hargreaves on the field and with Drew Brees throwing to him, there’s no reason Thomas should slow down any time soon.

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How will the Saints respond to Marshon Lattimore’s hamstring injury?

The New Orleans Saints lost CB Marshon Lattimore to a hamstring injury against the Atlanta Falcons, and he’ll reportedly be out a few weeks.

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The New Orleans Saints secondary took a big hit on Sunday, in addition to the passes Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan sent soaring over their heads. Per a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, top cornerback Marshon Lattimore strained his hamstring and is recovering with treatment from the team’s athletic staff. He’s considered “week-to-week,” so his availability is in doubt at least for the near future.

Hamstring injuries plagued Lattimore in college at Ohio State, though he’s managed them very well since the Saints drafted him. This would be his first extended absence since his 2017 rookie year when he missed three games with a concussion and ankle injury.

In his place, the Saints promoted slot corner P.J. Williams to Lattimore’s spot on the boundary and brought rookie defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson back onto the field to fill in for Williams. Williams did well in the pinch-hitting role, helping limit Falcons star receiver Julio Jones to three receptions on nine targets — though one of those catches was the biggest play of the game, a 54-yard grab-and-go in which a late tackle by free safety Marcus Williams stopped what would have been a touchdown.

With Lattimore sidelined, the Saints are going to stress the definition of “bend but don’t break” defense. He’s their most impactful defender, able to shift the entire defense schematically when playing at his best. But New Orleans can’t assume he’ll be ready for next week’s game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and their talented receiving duo of Chris Godwin and Mike Evans.

So expect the Saints to sign a veteran cornerback. Backup Ken Crawley was waived two weeks ago, opening the door for several experienced tryouts including Kayvon Webster (who spent the summer on New Orleans’ 90-man roster), Captain Munnerlyn, and Johnson Bademosi. Bademosi’s experience on special teams gave him the edge, and he’s already played 33 snaps on the punt and kickoff coverage units in two games.

The Saints need added depth at the position with Lattimore out, even if they don’t expect to start any new faces. Williams, Gardner-Johnson, and Eli Apple should remain the starting rotation, though backup Patrick Robinson could get on the field once he’s recovered from his own hamstring injury. They were fortunate that this wasn’t a season-threatening injury for Lattimore, and fans should have some optimism that he’ll return to the lineup sooner rather than later.

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UT News: November 11, 2019

The Tennessee Volunteers escaped Lexington this past weekend with a huge comeback victory against the Kentucky Wildcats. The game was a must-win match against their SEC archrivals for a Vols team vying for a bowl game after a rough start to the season. In other news, the Lady Vols basketball team travels to South Bend to play the Notre Dame Fighting Irish tonight, and the volleyball team swept Alabama this weekend. But first, take a look at some notes from the football game on Saturday.

Volunteers football notes

Nothing much went right for Tennessee in the first half of its crucial Southeastern Conference showdown at Kentucky Saturday night as the Volunteers trailed the Wildcats, 13-3, at halftime. Kentucky scored on its initial drive as UK quarterback Lynn Bowden gashed the Vols defense with his feet.
A late goal-line stand and a gutsy run from a wounded quarterback gave Tennessee a huge comeback victory Saturday night at Kentucky. Redshirt junior Jarrett Guarantano rushed for a big first down to seal a 17-13 Volunteers’ victory over Kentucky on a chilly night at Kroger Field.
Tennessee defeated Kentucky, 17-13, in the tenth game of the 2019 season. Following the conclusion of the Tennessee-Kentucky contest, Vols Wire provided game balls for the top UT players on offense, defense and special teams.

NEXT: Lady Vols face Notre Dame tonight

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