Tag: Paulson Adebo

Paulson Adebo returns to Saints practice on Wednesday

Paulson Adebo returned to team drills at Saints training camp on Wednesday. He’d been held out with a groin injury for a couple of weeks:

The New Orleans Saints received a huge boost to their secondary as Paulson Adebo returned to Saints training camp on Wednesday after missing a couple weeks with a groin injury. The cornerback returned and participated in team drills.

This was the second day in a row New Orleans saw an important player return to practice. Starting tight end Juwan Johnson returned Tuesday in front of the fans at Yulman Stadium.

This was a welcomed sight as the Saints’ cornerback room has been thinning out due to injury. Kool-Aid McKinstry suffered an injury in last week’s preseason game against the San Francisc 49ers, and Marshon Lattimore has been out since early in training camp with a hip flexor injury. Lattimore has been working off to the side and ramping up ahead of the regular season opener.

The Saints hope both are able to return before the season opener, but Adebo’s return all but confirms he’ll be ready against the Panthers, barring a setback.

Adebo is stepping into an important season in 2024. He’s coming off the best year of his career and entering the final year of his contract. With a repeat performance, Paulson Adebo would be in line for a nice payday

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Saints optimistic Kool-Aid McKinstry will be ready for Week 1

Kool-Aid McKinstry’s knee injury wasn’t as bad as it looked. After going down in their second preseason game, the Saints expect him to be ready for the season opener:

New Orleans Saints rookie Kool-Aid McKinstry is expected to be healthy and ready for the Saints’ regular season opener against the Carolina Panthers. This tracks with Dennis Allen’s initial update in the postgame press conference.

The Saints still had to put McKinstry through the medical process to be certain, and per Jordan Shultz’ report for Bleacher Report, McKinstry passed those tests. The rookie left the San Francisco 49ers game early with a leg injury sustained during the first play of their second drive. A San Francisco wide receiver inadvertently rolled up on McKinstry’s leg while the rookie corner was defending him.

Despite his appeals to the training staff on the sideline, McKinstry never returned to the game. Luckily, it appears to have been a minor injury. He may or may not be available for the final preseason game with the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, Aug. 25, but most importantly the expectation is he’ll be ready for the season opener in two weeks.

The Saints couldn’t afford another injury to that room. Marshon Lattimore and Paulson Adebo are still nursing injuries. There’s hope that both starters will be ready for the season. Right now, Adebo feels more optimistic seeing that he’s been working out with trainers on the sidelines more and more frequently.

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What should be the Saints’ next move after striking out on Justin Simmons?

What should be the Saints’ next move after striking out on Justin Simmons? The higher priority all along should have been their offensive line:

What should be the New Orleans Saints’ next move after striking out on Justin Simmons? Committing so much time and resources to recruiting a Pro Bowler just to come up short is disappointing, but it isn’t the end of the road. What’s the plan for the salary cap dollars that had been earmarked for Simmons’ offer?

Looking outwards, the higher priority all along should have been the New Orleans offensive line. Trevor Penning has been a big disappointment at right tackle and there aren’t any viable alternatives on the roster behind him. Landon Young can’t cut the mustard. Neither can Jesse Davis. Olisaemeka Udoh doesn’t have much NFL experience there with just three starts at right tackle.

You’ll find a similar problem at left guard. Lucas Patrick has done well relative to the players around him but he’s ultimately closer to a replacement-level starter than someone the Saints can lean on. Nick Saldiveri can’t stay healthy long enough to make a compelling argument for why he should start. Udoh was nearly a disaster in that role during last week’s preseason opener.

So who is available? The Saints waited too long to make a move for veteran players like Mekhi Becton and Dalton Risner, who signed with other teams. At this point the free agent market is made up of players who are either coming off serious injuries, on the wrong side of 30, or who couldn’t hold down starting jobs of their own last year — if not some combination of the three.

But beggars can’t be choosers. At some point the Saints will have to admit the group they’ve assembled isn’t good enough. They could wait to trawl the waiver wire in a few weeks or try to trade for a better blocker, but what are the chances another team’s castaways would be upgrades? We’ll guess it’s unlikely.

The smart thing to do would be to check in on the free agents still available. Guys like D.J. Humphries, Donovan Smith, Connor McGovern, and Billy Turner are all out there looking for work. They couldn’t be much worse than the players competing at Saints training camp right now. But there’s only one way to find out.

Alternatively, the Saints could look to continue extending their own talent. They signed Rashid Shaheed and Pete Werner to new contracts this summer, getting a jump on their 2025 free agent class. It’s possible they could  cut a deal with someone like breakout cornerback Paulson Adebo, too. Or they might come to terms on a new agreement with Alvin Kamara. The point is that they have options. At this stage the only mistake they can make is sitting on their hands and accepting mediocrity.

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Marshon Lattimore begins practicing for first time since July 26 injury

Marshon Lattimore went down with a hip flexor injury on Day 3 of Saints training camp. On Tuesday, he was seen practicing for the first time since July 26:

For the first time since suffering a hip flexor injury early on in New Orleans Saints training camp, Marshon Lattimore was seen working with trainers on the sidelines at Tuesday’s practice session.

In his absence, rookie cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry has taken over Lattimore’s duties opposite of Paulson Adebo (who has missed some time with his own injury). The rookie being able to get first team reps for a large portion of training camp is a silver lining of the injury. McKinstry is better for having the extra reps.

Lattimore went down on July 26, the third day of training camp. A couple days later, Dennis Allen called the injury concerning, but not something he was losing sleep over. Lattimore has missed a lot of time over the last two years and didn’t finish the 2023 season. His injury felt like continuation of a pattern. It had a little over two weeks since Allen’s comments and this is the first update we’ve received.

This is progress. Lattimore working to the side means he is at least getting closer to returning. It could easily be a few weeks away. The Saints may choose to hold Lattimore out for the duration of training camp out of necessity or precaution.

Seeing him work individually provides a bit of optimism around the possibility of Lattimore being available for the season opener against the  Carolina Panthers.

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Countdown to Kickoff: Paulson Adebo is the Saints Player of Day 29

We continue our kickoff to the regular season with Paulson Adebo, as only 29 days remain to the Saints’ Week 1 kickoff:

The 2024 NFL season is now less than 30 days away, with 29 days remaining until the New Orleans Saints kickoff their Week 1 matchup against the Carolina Panthers. As we continue to count down the days until that matchup, we take a look at the corresponding jersey number, which today is No. 29 — Paulson Adebo.

With players like Sammy Knight, Chris Ivory, Mo Spencer, and Josh Bullocks previously wearing 29, it is no foreign number to Saints fans. With that said, let’s take a look at Paulson Adebo’s background through this point in his career, as well as what we could expect from him this upcoming season.

  • Name (Age): Paulson Adebo (25)
  • Position: Cornerback
  • Height, weight: 6-foot-1, 192 pounds
  • Relative Athletic Score: 9.55
  • 2024 salary cap hit: $3,623,274
  • College: Stanford
  • Drafted: Round 3, Pick 76 (New Orleans Saints)
  • NFL experience: 3 seasons

The cornerback position for the Saints is set to have some changes for the 2024 season, as things have flipped around a bit. Marshon Lattimore is currently dealing with a hip flexor injury, so we will see how that impacts his playing time early on. Additionally, the Saints added Kool-Aid McKinstry in the second round of the 2024 NFL draft as well, who should be competing for a large sum of snaps at the position.

Adebo has been a quality starter for the Saints however, and stands to continue improving over time in what is now a contract year. He ended last season with career highs in interceptions (4), pass deflections (18 – third in the league), and total tackles (76). Additionally, he set career best numbers in completion percentage allowed (55%), touchdowns allowed (1), and passer rating allowed (62.7) despite seeing a career high in targets (100). Adebo already receives a huge role in the defense due to this success, as he saw 99% of defensive snaps in 2023, and could stand to see a similar role in 2024 with that level of elite play.

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Saints to play starters in their preseason debut vs. Cardinals

The Saints are changing their strategy from last preseason. They plan on playing their starters for a couple of series against the Cardinals:

When the New Orleans Saints make their preseason debut with the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday night, expect to see all of the starters play, likely for a couple of series. This is the plan as reported by NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill.

Plans do vary dependent on length of drives. A double digit drive clearly results in more plays than a three and out. It will be weighed as such. One long drive may be enough for Saints coaches. Last year, the Saints starters played one series all preseason. Derek Carr should be happy with the increase in snaps.

We were curious if the Saints would change their approach after less than satisfactory results last season. The answer is yes. Even if they don’t play after this game, New Orleans’ starters will see more reps than a year ago.

Demario Davis, Rashid Shaheed, Marshon Lattimore, Paulson Adebo and Pete Werner are among the list of players who likely won’t suit up due to injury. But we’ll watch pregame warmups carefully to get an idea for who else may be sidelined.

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Paulson Adebo believes contract situation will ‘take care of itself’

Paulson Adebo is coming off the best season of his career and entering a contract year. He doesn’t view the situation with much urgency:

Paulson Adebo is entering the final year of his contract, but there haven’t been any rumors or reports of negotiations between him and the New Orleans Saints. When asked about the situation after a recent training camp practice, Adebo didn’t seem to view it as an urgent matter.

Adebo is coming off the best year of his career in 2023. He emerged as a legitimate lead corner for the Saints after Marshon Lattimore went down with an injury. And right now he views any contract talks as something that “takes care of itself.” Until then, it’s business as usual. Nothing changes and Adebo is only worried about “being (at practice), putting my skillset on notice.”

He could be right. We’ve seen Demario Davis, Marshon Lattimore and Carl Granderson sign contracts after the season started in the recent past. Could that be in his future? The factors of Lattimore’s future in New Orleans and the selection of Kool-Aid McKinstry play a part in answering that question.

Alvin Kamara’s contract is the most high-profile negotiation in New Orleans, but don’t count out Adebo getting a new deal at some point in the offseason or early in the season. At the same time, he may want to wait and test the free agent market when similar players are earning top-dollar. Adebo is clearly the team’s best-positioned 2025 free agent.

When asked about his agent possibly setting up a meeting, Adebo declined to comment, though he said he respected the reporter for trying.

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Dennis Allen shares encouraging update on Marshon Lattimore injury

Dennis Allen shared an encouraging update on Marshon Lattimore’s injury: ‘I’m not losing a lot of sleep over it right now’

You’d be hard-pressed to find many coaches who are less worried about their top cornerback going down with an injury than Dennis Allen. Even fewer of them would be keeping their cool if that happened in the first week of training camp. And while Allen acknowledged that it is far from an ideal situation, he isn’t piling on Marshon Lattimore after the four-time Pro Bowler suffered a hip flexor injury last week.

“Well, look, I think any time guys have injuries and miss significant time, and then you get to training camp and they’re dealing with something else that’s going to cause them to miss some time, yeah, it’s concerning. And yet, I’m not losing a lot of sleep over it right now,” Allen told local media after Monday’s practice session.

Allen pointed to the team’s depth at corner as a big source of reassurance, leaning on guys like Paulson Adebo, Alontae Taylor, and Kool-Aid McKinstry as some who “can pick up the slack when he’s unavailable.” He’s seen Adebo and Taylor come through when needed, and McKinstry is a fine replacement (if not an outright upgrade) for Isaac Yiadom, who filled in well when Lattimore missed time last year. He’s singled out McKinstry before as someone who stands to gain from extremely valuable practice reps as Lattimore’s immediate backup.

Still, Allen is eager to see Lattimore back in action and playing to be the best of his abilities. He continued: “Certainly I want him to get healthy, I want him back out here, I think he’s a big part of what we do defensively. When we’re at we’re best he’s playing at a high level. And so hopefully he’ll be able to get his rehab done and get back out here sooner rather than later.”

Hip flexor injuries often take at least a week to work out, with the most serious cases sidelining players for up to six weeks. So in a worst-case scenario Lattimore might miss the rest of training camp and the preseason games before being cleared in time for Week 1. If the injury were more severe Allen probably wouldn’t be speaking about it so glibly. We’ll keep an eye out for Lattimore’s return to practice.

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Dennis Allen: Kool-Aid McKinstry has ‘extremely valuable’ opportunity

Kool-Aid McKinstry has an ‘extremely valuable’ opportunity at Saints training camp. Dennis Allen says every snap counts for the rookie draft pick:

You never want to see a player like Marshon Lattimore sidelined by injury. He’s arguably the best talent on the team, and the New Orleans Saints know it. But if there is a silver lining to his absence with a hip flexor injury, it’s that rookie second-round draft pick Kool-Aid McKinstry has a great opportunity to learn on the job as Lattimore’s immediate replacement.

McKinstry missed the Saints’ offseason program while recovering from foot surgery; medical checkups at the NFL Scouting Combine diagnosed him with a Jones fracture, which may have played a part in his fall in the draft. So just how valuable is this opportunity for McKinstry? Just ask Saints head coach Dennis Allen.

“Well, extremely valuable, you know. He’s a rookie that missed all of spring,” Allen said after practice on Saturday. “So he’s a thousand reps behind. So every rep that he can get is a learning experience for him. Good news for him, is that he’s smart. He comes from a system that did a lot, in college. Fundamentally and technique, he’s sound. And yet there’s differences in terms of how we do things compared to what he did in college, and so he has to get up to speed on those things. But he’ll be a quick study. And, look, he’s just got to get out here and get the reps.”

Allen isn’t the only one who feels that way. McKinstry’s old coach Nick Saban said the same of him at this year’s NFL draft, calling McKinstry one of the most intelligent and pro-ready defensive backs in the entire rookie class. Whether Lattimore is out of action for just one week or six weeks, McKinstry should have every opportunity to adapt to the pro game and compete for reps come Week 1.

How things may shape up is anyone’s guess. Alontae Taylor has been competing with McKinstry to start in the slot, with Lattimore and Paulson Adebo entrenched out wide. If Lattimore returns to health in time for the season opener, as is likely, McKinstry would go back to battling with Taylor at a position he hasn’t played often. Either way, whenever the Saints call his number and put him in the lineup, valuable snaps at practice like these will ensure he’s ready for it.

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Marshon Lattimore leaves with an injury at Day 3 of Saints training camp

Marshon Lattimore left the third day of Saints training camp practice with an injury. This is why they drafted Kool-Aid McKinstry:

Soft-tissue injuries are common early at training camp, but it’s still tough to see a key player sidelined like this. Marshon Lattimore left the third day of New Orleans Saints practices at UC Irvine with an injury. Afterwards head coach Dennis Allen said it was a hip flexor, which is something Lattimore has dealt with before. He suffered a hip flexor injury at the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine but it didn’t limit him much once the Saints drafted him.

This is why they drafted Kool-Aid McKinstry despite having both Paulson Adebo and Alontae Taylor on the roster along with Lattimore. No team has enough cornerbacks, and the Saints are no different. If this does linger then both McKinstry and Taylor will be getting on the field instead of competing with each other to man the slot. McKinstry took Lattimore’s reps on the first team defense with Taylor remaining in the slot at Friday’s practiice.

How much time will Lattimore miss? Allen was short on details, so we can only speculate. Depending on the severity he could be sidelined for a week or up to six weeks. Hopefully it isn’t that severe. Lattimore has missed a full 17-game season’s worth of action over the last two years recovering from freak accident injuries (a lacerated kidney in 2022 and a badly sprained ankle in 2023). It has to be frustrating for the former four-time Pro Bowler. We’ll be sure to monitor his progress.

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