Tag: Rules

Asked about COVID-19 protocol penalties, Sean Payton offers decisive response

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton declined to answer when asked if his team was facing league discipline for COVID-19 rules violations.

[jwplayer ZMnkNgUo-ThvAeFxT]

A Sunday morning splash report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter put the New Orleans Saints in the NFL’s crosshairs for a breach in COVID-19 protocol following a postgame locker room celebration after defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Nov. 8, but Saints coach Sean Payton isn’t interested in commenting on it.

“No. No. No. No. Nope. You’re reporting off reports,” Payton chided when asked if penalties could be coming down on New Orleans during his Monday media conference call. Schefter’s initial report suggested the Saints could face similar punishment as the Las Vegas Raiders, who paid out substantial financial penalties and forfeited a 2021 sixth-round draft pick as repeat offenders.

Schefter added that the Saints legal team had been discussing the issue with the NFL office throughout the week after videos from the locker room antics went viral, but it doesn’t appear any league discipline is imminent. Or if it is, Payton is refusing to comment on it. For the curious, the Saints celebrated again after defeating the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, but this time they were masked up:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHoy0oXpqHD/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

[listicle id=40382]

Report: Saints not ready to consider injured reserve for Drew Brees

The New Orleans Saints are not prepared to place quarterback Drew Brees on injured reserve yet, despite his diagnosis of lung and rib issues

[jwplayer ZMnkNgUo-ThvAeFxT]

It appears the New Orleans Saints will be without franchise quarterback Drew Brees, but the team isn’t prepared to send him to injured reserve. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that while the rib and lung injuries Brees suffered in recent weeks will sideline him, the Saints are not ready to consider a three-game absence by designating him to the reserve list.

Last year, when Brees tore a ligament in his throwing hand in a Week 2 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, the Saints chose not to place him on injured reserve because doing so would limit their roster flexibility later in the year. Instead, he was an inactive each week until he made his return. But because the NFL tweaked its injured reserve rules to accommodate absences during the COVID-19 pandemic, that isn’t a concern.

Teams may now return as many players as needed from the list so long as they spend at least three weeks out of action to heal up. It’s why the Saints sent defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins to injured reserve after he suffered a knee injury, which was expected to require several weeks of rest and recovery.

This might be good news for New Orleans. The Saints’ reluctance to put Brees on ice for three games suggests they believe he could return sooner, but there is no timetable yet in place. It’s worth noting that similar recovery timelines for Marcus Davenport (elbow) and Michael Thomas (ankle) required longer absences than the Saints projected earlier this season.

[listicle id=40382]

Saints call up two practice squad receivers as COVID-19 replacements

The New Orleans Saints promoted 3 players from their practice squad for Week 7 against the Panthers, including Juwan Johnson and Will Clapp.

[sendtonews_embed video_id=”dNPaG9spT7-1012639-7498″]

Both wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders and cornerback Ken Crawley were placed on the COVID-19 reserve list this week, prompting the New Orleans Saints to promote a pair of wide receivers from the practice squad: veteran Austin Carr and rookie Juwan Johnson. NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill first reported the roster moves.

Per an NFL rules tweak, these will not count against each other player for future promotions (the new CBA allows for two practice squad call-ups per player each season). Because they are filling in for teammates on COVID-19 reserve, both players are granted a temporary exemption. Carr has already had one game-week promotion so he is still allowed one more, while Johnson retains both of his future opportunities.

Johnson was signed by the Saints as an undrafted rookie out of Oregon, where the 6-foot-4, 231 pounder struggled to stay healthy after transferring from Penn State. He impressed with his blocking in training camp and was quickly signed to the practice squad after roster cuts.

Additionally, the Saints signed backup guard Will Clapp to the 53-man roster after losing wide receiver Bennie Fowler to injured reserve with a shoulder injury. Clapp has been signed, released, and re-signed six times this year as he bounces between the practice squad and active roster.

And the Saints may not be finished yet. They can call up two more practice squad players as typical game-day roster additions, but they could wait until pregame warmups on Sunday to decide whether more help is needed. So stay tuned for updates.

[vertical-gallery id=39346]

The clock is ticking louder for the Saints and Marcus Davenport

The New Orleans Saints could really use help from Marcus Davenport, their top 2018 draft pick who has been stuck on the injury report.

[jwplayer 55f1rSAh-ThvAeFxT]

Will Marcus Davenport return to practice with the New Orleans Saints on Thursday?

That’s the question on the minds of many fans. Davenport has not appeared in a game through the first two weeks after suffering an elbow injury late in training camp, which followed repeated praise from coaches, teammates, and reporters on the ground after a strong summer of work.

It’s disappointing to be sure. The big defensive end was sidelined by foot injuries in each of his first two seasons (turf toe in 2017, a Lisfranc issue in 2018), so this elbow problem is something new and unrelated. Stamping him as an injury-prone player wouldn’t be accurate.

Calling him a draft bust wouldn’t be right, either. Davenport has been effective when healthy; he’s seven sacks away from ranking among the top-20 Saints players of all time. He’s a good player, but he hasn’t been available often enough (and blaming him for it is pointless. He’s not trying to get hurt).

We’ll see what Thursday’s injury report looks like. The Saints released an estimate from the training staff on Wednesday, having not held a practice session after traveling back from Las Vegas on a short week. And they played it conservative in listing Davenport as a DNP, which makes sense. Guessing that he may have practiced before downgrading him after the team actually gets to work would look much worse than the opposite.

Hopefully he returns on Thursday and can play on Sunday in some capacity. If not, the Saints have serious questions to answer about how they’ve handled this, at least internally. The only reason he shouldn’t have started the year on injured reserve was if he was expected back in a week or two (in 2020, players are allowed to return after three weeks on the list). If he misses this third game, it means the Saints misdiagnosed his injury and how long it would take him to recover.

Earlier this month, Saints coach Sean Payton preached patience with Davenport, describing it as an injury that would only get worse if he were rushed into action. But we’re approaching the limits of the initial recovery timeline, and drawing things out with Davenport has had a ripple effect on the rest of the depth chart.

The Saints choosing to keep him on the roster meant that veteran Margus Hunt had to be promoted twice from the practice squad in Davenport’s place on game days, which they will not be able to do again unless Hunt is signed to the roster full-time. Because Davenport was on the roster but inactive, they’ve lost some roster flexibility later in the season.

And they could certainly use the help. All-Pro defensive end Cameron Jordan has looked stiff (possibly due to offseason surgery), and he hasn’t had a sack in the first two games. As a team, the Saints have logged just six sacks. That’s not good enough.

We’ll know more once the injury report is published. Stay tuned for updates.

[vertical-gallery id=38128]

Saints call up Bennie Fowler, Margus Hunt again to play vs. Raiders

The New Orleans Saints promoted veteran wide receiver Bennie Fowler and defensive end Margus Hunt again to play versus the Las Vegas Raiders

[jwplayer kj3NJBG4-ThvAeFxT]

NFL teams are allowed to promote up to two players each week from their practice squad to expand game-day rosters to 48 from the usual 46, and the New Orleans Saints went with a pair of familiar names for Week 2’s tilt with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Wide receiver Bennie Fowler and defensive lineman Margus Hunt were each called up in Week 1, and they’ll be doing so again per ESPN’s Field Yates. Both practice squad members made an impact on special teams in the season opener against Tampa Bay, with Hunt blocking a field goal while Fowler recovered a fumbled kickoff to seal the win.

In total, Fowler appeared on 19 snaps last week (12 of them on special teams), while Hunt handled a heavier workload with 25 snaps played (just 4 of them on special teams). Hunt should get more looks at defensive end with Marcus Davenport inactive due to injury.

However, this is the last time the Saints can call up either of them unless they are signed to the 53-man roster, where their spots are secured for several weeks (barring an injury). Players may only be promoted twice in the 2020 season before teams have to make that longer commitment, preserving some separation between the active roster and the practice squad.

If either Davenport or star wide receiver Michael Thomas are going to miss much more time, it shouldn’t shock anyone if the Saints end up signing Hunt or Fowler to keep them around. They clearly value those veterans’ contributions.

But with Thomas expected to be out just two to four weeks and Davenport not placed on the short-term injured reserve to start the season, these may simply be band-aids for New Orleans until their starters are back in action.

[vertical-gallery id=38024]

Saints activate RB Dwayne Washington after 18 days on COVID-19 reserve

The New Orleans Saints welcomed running back Dwayne Washington back to practice after an 18-day absence on the NFL’s COVID-19 reserve list.

[jwplayer Fd0F2v54-ThvAeFxT]

The New Orleans Saints activated running back Dwayne Washington from the NFL’s COVID-19 reserve list on Thursday, 18 days after he was first sidelined per league protocol. He was the fourth Saints player to land on the list since training camp opened in late July, but each of his teammates returned to work after a day or two, writing the experience off as false positive test results.

That wasn’t the case for Washington, who missed the rest of camp and the first regular season game. Teams keep test results confidential so there’s no way of knowing for sure, but the lengthy absence for Washington would suggest he contracted the coronavirus. And thankfully, it appears he’s made a full recovery.

Washington returned to practice with the Saints on Thursday, and he could very well suit up for Monday’s kickoff with the Las Vegas Raiders. He was a core special teamer last season — only cornerback Justin Hardee and linebacker Craig Robertson played more snaps in the game’s third phase — but it remains to be seen how large of a role he’ll see on offense. Washington saw just 18 snaps there in 2019, buried beneath Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray on the depth chart.

Now he has to contend with training camp breakout Ty Montgomery, who got in on four snaps with the Saints offense in their 2020 season opener. Montgomery also placed third in New Orleans for special teams snaps played (behind Hardee and Robertson) against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so maybe he and Washington can coexist.

And the Saints will not have to waive a player to make room for Washington on their 53-man roster. They never replaced rookie punter Blake Gillikin after he landed on injured reserve last week, so a spot was kept open for Washington once he was cleared to return. But the Saints do have an open vacancy on their 16-strong practice squad after linebacker Anthony Chickillo left for an opportunity on the Denver Broncos active roster, so some movement should be expected.

[vertical-gallery id=37970]

REPORT: Michael Thomas expected to miss ‘several weeks’ with ankle injury

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas is expected to miss several weeks with an ankle injury suffered against the Buccaneers.

[jwplayer GQfNAjzZ-ThvAeFxT]

The New Orleans Saints offense took a huge hit on Tuesday after further evaluating the high-ankle injury suffered by wide receiver Michael Thomas late in their Week 1 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport reported that Thomas is expected to miss several weeks while recovering after it was initially said that he hoped to gut out the pain in next week’s game with the Las Vegas Raiders.

It’s a big loss, even if Thomas’s importance wasn’t reflected on the Week 1 stats sheet (he went 3-of-5 for 17 yards). He’s not the NFL’s reining Offensive Player of the Year for nothing, and without him the Saints will have to rely more heavily on pass-catchers like Alvin Kamara and Jared Cook, as well as free agent pickup Emmanuel Sanders.

We’ll know more in the days ahead, once the Saints have released their first Week 2 injury report on Thursday. NFL teams are allowed to return players from the injured reserve list after three weeks this season, so if Thomas doesn’t land on I.R. it could suggest the Saints expect him to be game-ready sooner than that window would allow.

 

[vertical-gallery id=37913]

Through 2 weeks, Saints still haven’t protected a practice squad player

The New Orleans Saints have not protected a practice squad player through the first two weeks of the 2020 NFL season, despite having depth.

[jwplayer GQfNAjzZ-ThvAeFxT]

The second week of the NFL regular season is in full swing, and the New Orleans Saints have again chosen not to protect any of the 16 players on their practice squad. After appearing in the season-opening win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, both defensive lineman Margus Hunt (21 snaps on defense, 4 on special teams) and wide receiver Bennie Fowler (7 snaps on offense, 12 on special teams) reverted to the practice squad. They can each be called up one more time before they must be signed to the roster full-time.

So the decision to not protect any of their practice squad players is, on its surface, puzzling. Teams have the option this year to block up to four players from being poached by other teams each week; it’s a first-year change along with the expanded practice squads (which grew to 16 from 12, as ruled in the new CBA and adjusted for the COVID-19 pandemic). But Saints coach Sean Payton put some thought into how much he’s willing to give away on the daily transactions wire.

“Yeah, a number of teams didn’t. We were one of them and just chose to go that route,” Payton said in his Sept. 11 conference call. “There’s pros and cons. Obviously, you put a protection tag on someone, you’re alerting 31 other teams maybe of a player that that you might have plans for. I think it’s just one of those things where I don’t know how many teams, 14 or 15, but I know we weren’t the only ones [to not issue protections].”

Ahead of Week 2, all but 12 teams chose to protect at least one practice squad member from poaching; the Kansas City Chiefs protected defensive tackle Braxton Hoyett, while the Minnesota Vikings blocked kicker Chase McLaughlin. So they aren’t as worried about tipping their hand.

We’ll see whether the Saints choose to activate any players from the practice squad again this week. As Payton suggested, opting to not protect anyone during the week could give teams an edge on game day once it’s time to whittle down the roster for players who can dress out.

That’s a player the opposing team wouldn’t have studied game film for. And it clearly paid off for the Saints, when Hunt blocked a field goal and Fowler recovered a fumbled ball. Maybe it’s a stunt they can pull off again.

[vertical-gallery id=37715]

Long snapper Zach Wood cleared from NFL’s COVID-19 protocol

New Orleans Saints long snapper Zach Wood again tested negative for COVID-19, clearing him from the NFL’s new protocol.

[jwplayer 2CPn5E98-ThvAeFxT]

Here’s some expected good news: New Orleans Saints long snapper Zach Wood retested negative for COVID-19 again, his second such result after being designated to the new reserve/COVID-19 list earlier this week. News of Wood’s successful retest was first reported by Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football and confirmed by Katherine Terrell of The Athletic.

This means that Wood is in the clear to rejoin the Saints at their Metairie practice facility, once he’s formally activated in a filing with the league office. Because the NFL’s new COVID-19 rules and regulations limit teams to strength and conditioning exercises at this stage of training camp, the Saints likely weren’t disrupted much by having their only long snapper out of the lineup for a few days.

Still, they’ll be happy to get Wood back in the fold. He’s a cornerstone of the special teams unit, sign through 2023 along with kicker Wil Lutz; punter Thomas Morstead’s contract runs through 2022. That sort of stability has to be appreciated.

The Saints have come a long way from their tumultuous 2017 training camp, when they auditioned three different long snappers (Justin Drescher, Thomas Gafford, and Chase Dominguez) and traded for a fourth in longtime Philadelphia Eagles specialist Jon Dorenbos — whose entry physical revealed a life-threatening heart condition. Wood flew into town for a last-minute tryout two days before the season opener, won the job, and has quietly held it down ever since. Here’s hoping for more nonchalant success (and good health) for him.

[vertical-gallery id=36627]

Saints long snapper Zach Wood retests negative, still in COVID-19 protocol

New Orleans Saints long snapper Zach Wood passed his first retest after being designated to the reserve/COVID-19 list, but must do so again.

[jwplayer mVv4mgFy-ThvAeFxT]

One of the two New Orleans Saints players designated to the reserve/COVID-19 is already on his way off of it, having twice retested negative for a coronavirus infection: second-year linebacker Kaden Elliss. That leaves veteran long snapper Zach Wood as the only member of the Saints on the reserve list as he awaits the results of his second retest.

Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football first reported that Wood’s initial retest came back negative, and added that Wood will receive the results from his second retest on Saturday. If that is also negative, he will be allowed to rejoin the team.

Wood signed a four-year contract extension with the Saints earlier this summer that makes New Orleans’ special teams situation one of the most stable in the league; with punter Thomas Morstead inked through 2022 and kicker Wil Lutz signed through 2023, all three specialists are under contract for the long haul.

In a normal year, Wood’s early-training camp absence would have been something of an emergency. But the Saints are limited to running strength and conditioning drills at this stage in the rump-up period, per the NFL’s new COVID-19 rules, so the loss of a long snapper won’t destabilize things just yet.

[vertical-gallery id=36627]