Tag: Practice

Saints could play Falcons without all five of last year’s offensive line starters

There’s been turnover along the Saints’ offensive line. Now Cesar Ruiz has a knee injury, and if he can’t go all five of last year’s starters will be out on Sunday:

This is worth watching. Right guard Cesar Ruiz missed Wednesday’s New Orleans Saints practice with what head coach Dennis Allen said was a knee injury. And as Nola.com’s Rod Walker noted, if Ruiz can’t play on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, the Saints will be without all five of their starters from last year’s offensive line.

Center Erik McCoy is going on injured reserve with a groin injury. Last season’s left tackle, Andrus Peat, is currently playing for the Las Vegas Raiders. The left guard will either be Oli Udoh, Landon  Young, or Nick Saldiveri, none of whom played many snaps there on last year’s team. Ruiz’s replacement at right guard would be anyone’s guess. And right tackle Trevor Penning was benched last season after initially playing left tackle.

Some turnover was needed given how poorly the Saints’ offensive line performed a year ago, but this is excessive. Being down one starter is bad enough; that it’s McCoy, the unit’s best player, getting sidelined for six to eight weeks is even worse. Working without Ruiz as well would only exacerbate their problems.

We’ll watch out for updates carefully throughout the week. Ruiz was able to play through his knee issue last Sunday but that may not be the case for him in their next game. Hopefully he’s able to go and do a better job slowing down the Falcons than we saw last week against the Philadelphia Eagles.

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WATCH: Bills players try to guess teammates’ baby photos

WATCH: Bills players try to guess teammates’ baby photos

While preparing to face the Jacksonville Jaguars on ‘Monday Night Football’, the Buffalo Bills took a moment after a walkthrough on Saturday to have a little fun.

Presented with numerous baby photos of their current teammates, Bills players try to guess who is who. Khalil Shakir, Joe Andreessen, and others try their hand at it and some realize it is harder to do than they thought.

Watch the full video below:

Spencer Rattler was the Saints’ scout team stand-in for Jalen Hurts

The Saints used Spencer Rattler as their stand-in for Jalen Hurts on this week’s scout team, preparing them to defend one of the game’s most mobile quarterbacks:


The New Orleans Saints will have to stop Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. How do you prepare for this challenge? Throw Spencer Rattler in there as the scout team version of Hurts, of course.

The truth is Hurts is a difficult player to replicate. You want to mimic the legs of Hurts while maintaining the element of the pass. This removes all non-quarterbacks. So who’s next? Derek Carr? Even if he wasn’t your starter, that wouldn’t work. Rattler is the more athletic of the two between him and Jake Haener.

Taysom Hill is the true best choice. He and Hurts resemble each other in style and stature. The problem is, Hill is dealing with an unspecified chest injury that limited him in practice this week. Under certain circumstances, you may have asked him to extend himself to help preparation but not with his health in question.

For this week, Rattler was the best the Saints could do. It’s not many people who could have replicated. We’ll see on Sunday if the Saints appear more prepared than the last time they saw Mr. Hurts.

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Marshon Lattimore (hamstring) returns to practice on Wednesday

Marshon Lattimore returned to practice Wednesday, and Dennis Allen says the hope is he can play against the Eagles this Sunday:

The New Orleans Saints may be getting a key piece back this week, as they have cornerback Marshon Lattimore returning to practice in a limited capacity on Wednesday. According to Dennis Allen, the hope is for Lattimore to play on Sunday, but we’ll have to wait and see how he progresses in practice this week. Lattimore was held out as a coach’s decision in last week’s win over the Dallas Cowboys.

Ultimately, the decision will likely come down to whether Lattimore can get back up to full practice reps, or at least show Allen that he has recovered enough to not create further issues with the hamstring when playing.

Having Lattimore back after missing practice all week leading into Week 2 and then being held out of the game will be a good thing, as despite the secondary playing decently well against Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and the Cowboys, having that true number one lockdown cornerback against the Philadelphia Eagles will be critical. Despite the current unknown nature of when A.J. Brown will return, DeVonta Smith will be a difficult receiver to handle on his own.

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Chiefs WRs worked on their release during practice this week

Check out this video of the #Chiefs’ receivers working on their release at the line of scrimmage during practice this week.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ new-look offense is gearing up for their home opener against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night. During drills at practice on Monday, the Chiefs’ wide receivers were seen working on their release at the line of scrimmage, which will be crucial against Baltimore’s lockdown secondary.

Though most of Kansas City’s wideouts will be available for the Chiefs’ tilt against the Ravens, free agent addition Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown is set to miss the game due to an injury he sustained in the preseason.

Sports radio host and reporter Darren Smith gave fans this inside look at Kansas City’s workouts on Twitter, where he posted a video of the receivers’ progress on the practice field:

 

As gameday draws closer, all eyes are on the Chiefs’ new pass-catchers, who will do their best to help quarterback Patrick Mahomes secure Kansas City its third consecutive Super Bowl victory this season.

Marshon Lattimore returns to practice ahead of Week 1 kickoff game

Marshon Lattimore may have been limited in Thursday’s practice, but his return to practice is a welcomed sight leading into game week.

The New Orleans Saints are 10 days away from their regular season opener versus the Carolina Panthers and one step closer to a complete secondary.

Marshon Lattimore, the Saints’ star cornerback, return to practice for the first time since suffering a hip flexor injury early in Saints training camp. It’s been a bit of an odd timeline this offseason for Lattimore in relation to his health and relationship with the team.

There was apparent tension between Lattimore and Dennis Allen that was addressed when the cornerback returned for mandatory minicamp. Allen previously said that he wasn’t losing sleep over Lattimore’s status, but he would have been listed as a limited participant on Wednesday if the team had to issue a regular injury report.

It’s been relatively quiet since Lattimore’s injury and has led to some speculating those tensions were either downplayed earlier in the summer or flared back up. Regardless, the silence allowed the narrative of Lattimore’s discontent to further. We saw him work with trainers once, but not much was said about his progress.

Lattimore returned as a limited participant in Thursday’s practice. It may be limited, but it’s a good sign of his availability for Week 1. His running mate, Paulson Adebo, just returned from injury as well. Having both of their cornerbacks was necessary going into the season.

If Lattimore returns in time for kickoff, the Saints’ most formidable position group will be at full strength for the season opener.

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Payton Turner’s toe injury flared up again at Saints practice this week

Payton Turner’s toe injury flared up again at Saints practice this week. He’s playing through pain to prove he belongs:

Payton Turner’s toe injury flared up again at New Orleans Saints training camp this week, taking the defensive end out of practice early. It was the second time in as many weeks where Turner’s injury became a problem. And he returned to a full day of reps the next day just like the week before. But this may be something Turner and the Saints medical staff have to manage throughout his time in black and gold.

He’s playing through pain to prove he belongs. It’s not like Turner stubbed his toe or something negligible. He tore a ligament in his foot last year that required surgery and an extensive rehab, and it’s still bothering him. It’s really unfortunate for a player who is working so hard to help his team and salvage his career be slowed down by something outside his control like this.

So what’s to be done? Expect more occasional rest days for Turner throughout the season to help mitigate the weight and stress being put on his surgically-repaired foot. That’s the approach the team has taken with other players battling long-lasting injuries in the past, like Ryan Ramczyk’s degenerative knee condition. But we’ll just have to wait and see. Hopefully Turner can continue to play and fight for snaps in the rotation at defensive end behind Chase Young, Carl Granderson, and Cameron Jordan.

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Veteran Chiefs defensive lineman describes practicing against Patrick Mahomes

Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Charles Omenihu describes practicing against Patrick Mahomes | @EdEastonJr

The Kansas City Chiefs are preparing to start the regular season, and their mindset is strictly focused on the elusive three-peat.

Chiefs defensive lineman Charles Omenihu is still recovering from his ACL injury and recently appeared as a guest on ‘The G.O.A.T. Farm Show’ to share some of his thoughts on Patrick Mahomes and this year’s team.

“He’s that guy, bro, like, it’s not a lot of guys that i give that kind of credit to, but he’s him, for sure,” said Omenihu. “I’ll never forget he was in practice, and I’m rushing my hands up. I got long arms, and he literally had the ball go around my hand. Like, made that b**** go around. I was like, Damn bro, dude, like, behind-the-back passes and sh**. The no looks are always like a thing for him, and he’ll roll out and chunk that b****.”

Omenihu was an impactful player on the defensive line when he was on the field after a suspension cost him six games to start the 2023 season. He still manages to finish third on the team in sacks and hopes to contribute to a talented roster of players once he’s cleared to return to action.

“Now we got two guys (Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown and Xavier Worthy) that run 4.2 and can get it. We got Rashee (Rice), and Trav (Travis Kelce) is gonna run the middle, and we got (Isiah) Pacheco that’s gonna run hard,” said Omenihu. “I just don’t see nobody really f****** with that.”

https://youtube.com/shorts/1HUDGfXy7mQ?si=Y8Yk_IEdHHLZIfvK

Omenihu continues to allow fans to track his rehab process on his YouTube channel, where he frequently posts updates on his status.

Chiefs share Travis Kelce mic’d up supercut video from training camp

Check out some of Travis Kelce’s best mic’d up moments from #Chiefs training camp.

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce seems to relish any time he gets on camera, whether in Hollywood or at practices during training camp.

While his meteoric rise to stardom off the football field was a key storyline during the 2024 offseason, his hilarious antics weren’t reserved for the silver screen when the Chiefs took the field in St. Joseph earlier this month.

Although Kelce and Patrick Mahomes are quite an entertaining pairing, the All-Pro pass-catcher proved that he could steal the show during a mic’d up recording at Missouri Western State University.

Check out Kelce’s greatest hits from this summer’s practice condensed into a two-minute highlight clip, which was posted to the Chiefs’ official Twitter account:

Kelce didn’t take the field in Kansas City’s preseason finale against the Chicago Bears but fans can expect to see him back in action when the Chiefs face the Baltimore Ravens on September 5.

WATCH: Carl Granderson mic’d up at Saints training camp practice

Carl Granderson was mic’d up at New Orleans Saints training camp practice. Here’s a day of work from his point of view:

Carl Granderson was mic’d up at New Orleans Saints training camp practice. Here’s a day of work from his point of view, which you can watch here. He’s the latest defender to wear a microphone into practice after other guys like Alontae Taylor and Willie Gay Jr. did so. Playmakers on offense like Rashid Shaheed and Cesar Ruiz have also given us a glimpse at practice from their perspectives.

Granderson is going to be a big player for the team again this year. He’s steadily climbed the depth chart to lead the Saints in snaps played at defensive end last season, logging 103 more reps than Cameron Jordan did. Expect Granderson and big-time free agent acquisition Chase Young to take point on passing downs.

Just how great can Granderson be? The former undrafted free agent has come a long way, and he’s coming off new career-highs in sacks (8.5) and tackles for loss (14). His 58 quarterback pressures were tied for 24th-most at Pro Football Focus, behind Young’s 66 (17th) and ahead of Jordan’s 45 (44th). He’s put in the work to become the future at defensive end for the Saints. All he has to do next is follow through and meet his own standards.

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