Tag: Training Camp

Saints bring back a familiar offensive lineman to their practice squad

The Saints brought back a familiar face by re-signing Sincere Haynesworth to the practice squad. The rookie from Tulane spent his summer with New Orleans:

After a plethora of moves yesterday that included a highlighted Alvin Kamara extension, the New Orleans Saints made yet another transaction that likely flew under the radar, as reported by KPRC2 Houston’s Aaron Wilson.

The Saints brought back a familiar face from this summer, adding rookie offensive lineman Sincere Haynesworth to the practice squad. Haynesworth, a Tulane alum signed with the Saints as an undrafted free agent earlier this year and spent the summer completed for a spot on the interior of the offensive line.

Haynesworth was waived by the Saints before the start of the regular season and then picked up by the New England Patriots four weeks into the year. However, his time there would be short as he was cut just seven days after his signing.

The addition of Haynesworth to the practice squad could be a sign that guard Nick Saldiveri won’t be active this week, as he was sidelined during last week’s game against Denver with a shoulder injury. This could possibly indicate that another interior offensive lineman, maybe even Haynesworth himself, could be brought up for gameday this week.

We should know a bit more in the next few days when the injury reports start to clear things up.

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Saints can no longer keep their opinion on young quarterbacks veiled

Dennis Allen will be forced into choosing between Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler after Derek Carr’s injury. He avoided a public decision after training camp:

Dennis Allen avoided saying who won the battle between Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler at New Orleans Saints training camp. Even Haener’s placement as Derek Carr’s backup doesn’t give a clear-cut answer. We’ve seen situations where the backup doesn’t take over in the following weeks, like when Taysom Hill stepped in for an injured Drew Brees rather than Jameis Winston.

With Carr expected to miss multiple weeks, the veil will be completely lifted on who they believe has the edge, because New Orleans won’t run a two-quarterback system. If the Saints truly think it’s an even race, they’ll have to make that tough decision. Allen will have to make a decision, and he’ll have to make it quick.

Neither Haener or Rattler have ever started a regular season game. Whoever is starting needs to take all the first team reps this week in practice. Competing throughout the week and sharing first team reps will ultimately do a disservice to the Week 6 starter.

This doesn’t mean Allen has to announce the decision. He actually will probably keep it to himself. Allen didn’t even want to say Will Harris will be the starting safety in Week 1 prior to the game. He’ll definitely keep the starting quarterback close to the vest. In this situation, it’s more understandable.

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Numbers say 49ers WR trending toward All-Pro form despite slow start

Brandon Aiyuk was open a lot in Week 2. Brock Purdy has to start finding him.

It appears the San Francisco 49ers are quickly seeing some of the adversity generated when a wide receiver misses all of training camp.

Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and quarterback Brock Purdy haven’t been able to get on the same page in the 49ers’ first two games. Aiyuk, who missed all of training camp because of dispute over a long-term contract extension, has 10 targets so far this season. He’s hauled in six of them for 71 yards. His longest catch went for 22 yards.

Part of the blame can fall on his playing time. Through two weeks he’s played 73 percent of the 49ers’ offensive snaps. Last year he played in 82 percent. In 2022 he was at 91 percent.

There’s more to it than just playing time, and there appears to be more to it than just Aiyuk getting in playing shape. While playing shape may have been a problem in Week 1, peripheral stats indicate Purdy just didn’t get Aiyuk the ball in Week 2.

Pro Football Focus ran the numbers on separation for pass catchers through two weeks. They have a metric called ‘separation percentage’ which aims to measure “how often a receiver beats the coverage to get open rather than benefiting from a defense more focused on limiting yards after the catch or stopping them short of the first down,” according to their website.

Week 1 wasn’t good for Aiyuk. He created separation on only four of his 12 opportunities. Those numbers help paint the picture of why he earned only five targets.

Week 2 was substantially better. Per PFF he had 14 opportunities and gained separation on 12 of them. His 85.71 separation percentage was the sixth-best in the NFL in Week 2. Alas, the uptick in separation didn’t lead to an uptick in targets. Purdy threw him the ball only five times again.

This is something that has to get remedied immediately. All indications are that Aiyuk is trending quickly toward his All-Pro form. Purdy now needs to look his way with more frequency. That was always going to be the case, but there’s a dramatic uptick in urgency with Deebo Samuel joining Christian McCaffrey on the sidelines with a calf injury.

Purdy and Aiyuk need to get on the same page because the quicker they do, the quicker the 49ers can overcome injuries and solve some of the offensive issues that have plagued them on third down and in the red zone so far in 2024.

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Alvin Kamara on potential extension with Saints: ‘It’s too late for contract talk’

Alvin Kamara issues a bleak update on his contract entering Week 1

Alvin Kamara’s contract situation has been an ongoing conversation this offseason. He is going into the final year of his contract and was looking for an extension, which has yet to come. As the New Orleans Saints prepare to open the season versus the Carolina Panthers, the two sides have not reached a deal.

Don’t expect them to reach one any time soon, either. Kamara told reporters on Monday that it’s gotten too far into the year for a deal to get done. ”

“It’s too late for contract talk,” he said.

Kamara left the team’s final minicamp practice, which sparked this conversation in June. It doesn’t seem like there’s been much progress since then.

We’ve seen players agree to new contracts early in the season, but Kamara won’t be added to that group. He doesn’t want to carry negotiations into the season.

He doubled down on his “too late” statement by saying, “I’m at the point where I’m kind of like I’m not even talking about it until after the season. I don’t want to talk about it.”

Entering a contract year in a new system could be troubling for some, but Kamara’s football intelligence makes this unconcerning. The scheme is supposed to heavily feature the running back as well. Kamara will have ample chances to showcase why he deserves a new deal next offseason.

Broncos planning around construction to have fans at training camp in 2025

With construction at the facility, the Broncos are considering bringing in temporary bleachers for fans attending training camp next summer.

The Denver Broncos are working on building a new facility at Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit that is set to be completed in two years.

With construction at the facility next summer, the Broncos still plan to have fans attend training camp in 2025, but the capacity limit might be lower than the current limit of 3,000 fans.

“That’s still a bit of a work in progress,” team president Damani Leech said last week when asked how fans will be able to attend training camp around the construction. “I think that the one thing that we’re exploring now is putting temporary bleachers into [south] parking Lot B and providing some space for fans there. It might be a little bit less than what we had this year, but we’re still working through that.”

Denver’s brass hopes to have it completed before training camp begins in 2026.

“Our goal is to be in the new facility by June of 2026, so training camp in 2026, everyone will be in the facility,” Leech said.

As for the facility itself, team owner/CEO Greg Penner believes it will make a statement to players.

“I do think it sends a message to the team that we’re willing to invest,” Penner said, “we’re going to set a very high standard and our expectations for ourselves and them are very high.”

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Preseason injuries helped Saints linebacker room in the long run

Demario Davis and Pete Werner missing most of training camp allowed Willie Gay to gain experience in the system and Anfernee Orji to develop

Demario Davis and Pete Werner missed the entirety of the preseason due to injuries. You never want players to be injured, but there was a silver lining to their absence: Other linebackers had the chance to step up.

Willie Gay Jr. and Anfernee Orji both showed up big in the preseason. Let’s separate the two because they entered camp at two different places and had two different benefits from the preseason.

Gay seemed to be entering a training camp battle with Werner, but Werner’s extension put that assumption in doubt. Pair that with Werner missing the majority of training camp, but not losing his job, and you are looking at Gay likely always destined to be the strong side backer.

Gay made the most of his preseason by playing a large amount of snaps in the first two games. Getting this amount of reps allowed him to get comfortable in a new system quickly. As a guy who will play Week 1, this was huge for him.

Orji was fighting for a roster spot and became a lock with an emphatic preseason. Orji went from a player who could end up on the practice squad again to a young linebacker to be excited about. He even got some reps versus the opposing starters that did play in the preseason.

No one is ever happy to see an injury occur. Getting Gay quickly acclimated and Orji’s major development were two positives to come from the situation, though.

Rashid Shaheed feels mentally and physically ready for the season

Rashid Shaheed missed a lot of training camp, but he feels he’s taken the proper steps to not miss a beat in Klint Kubiak’s system.

Rashid Shaheed missed a large amount New Orleans Saints training camp due to injuries. Under normal circumstances, all that would matter is that he’s healthy for Week 1. Moving into a new scheme under Klint Kubiak adds another layer.

Shaheed’s absence not only means he has to make sure his body is ready, but he’s also missing time to grasp the new offense. Shaheed isn’t worried. He feels comfortable with his understanding of the offense and already feels he has a good physical rhythm in the offense.

Shaheed returned to practice this week and said this: “It felt really, really good today. I feel like I didn’t lose a step. I stayed on top of everything that I needed to throughout the rehab process, so I would be able to be fast and play free and be on the same page with our quarterbacks.”

In a way, that is the easy part. Shaheed, however, took the proper steps to make the mental part easier, as well. His injuries haven’t kept him away from the team. Throughout rehab, the wide receiver continued to ask questions to make sure he was still learning along the way.

“The offense is complex, but if you stay on top of it, you’ll be fine,” he said.

Broncos are breaking ground on new headquarters and practice facility today

The Broncos are breaking ground on their new Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit facility today.

The Denver Broncos will break ground on a new Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit facility on Thursday morning.

“Designed in a contemporary style reflective of Colorado with a focus on enhancing player health and performance, the Broncos’ facility will bring together football and business operations in an inspirational, collaborative and modern environment,” the team said in a press release earlier this week. “The three-story, 205,000-square-foot training facility will mark a 30 percent increase in size over the existing facility.”

The privately funded project is projected to cost about $175 million, and the Broncos hope to have construction completed in time for the 2026 season.

Denver coach Sean Payton said after Wednesday’s practice that he’s looking forward to an underground parking lot that will prevent him from having to scrape snow off his car windows in the winter.

“Obviously, it’s going to be beautiful,” Payton said. “It’s going to be nice — I think two years is the [target date], I think 2026. When we’re sitting here doing this, it’s going to be there (points to new facility location). This will all be gone. Greg [Penner], Carrie [Walton Penner], the planning — there’s been a lot that’s gone into it. And it’s just one more sign of their commitment relative to this organization and where we’re at [and] what they want to do.”

Here is a rendering of what the new facility will look like, provided by the team. Denver is expected to use temporary bleachers for fans at training camp next summer during construction. Once completed, the Broncos will have a beautiful facility for players, coaches and fans to enjoy.

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Saints release Equanimeous St. Brown, a likely pickup for the practice squad

The New Orleans Saints released veteran wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown at roster cuts, a likely pickup for the practice squad:

As the New Orleans Saints continue to make their roster cuts ahead of the cutdown deadline, the team made the decision to release wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown, brother of Lions’ receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill first reported the release.

The decision to cut St. Brown comes after a productive preseason outing versus the Tennessee Titans where he caught three of his four targets for 43 yards and a touchdown.

St. Brown made waves early on in minicamp before sustaining an injury that put him out for a good portion of training camp. At 6-foot-5, St. Brown was a potential answer for the Saints need for a physical pass catcher but unfortunately wasn’t dealt much of an opportunity due to injury.

With that being said, as a veteran St. Brown is likely to find his way onto the practice squad tomorrow since he does not have to go on waivers. It’s a similar situation to safety Johnathan Abram, who was just released earlier Tuesday.

As far as his potential impact with the team in 2024 if brought back? St. Brown will likely serve as a practice squad elevation on game days as the team’s fifth receiver, being utilized as a good depth piece for the team. But a high-end pickup either through free agency or a trade could make him  expendable. Stay tuned.

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Saints waive Lou Hedley, making a big change at punter

The New Orleans Saints waived Lou Hedley, making a big change at punter. It looks like it’ll be Matthew Hayball punting this year but he isn’t out of the woods yet:

The New Orleans made a big change at punter and waived Lou Hedley, as first reported by NewOrleans.Football’s Mike Triplett. Obviously we’ll have to wait and make sure they don’t add someone else, but that suggests rookie punter Matthew Hayball won the job after a spirited competition throughout the summer. He’ll be the fourth punter for the Saints in five years after Hedley won the job from Blake Gillikin, who had replaced Thomas Morstead.

Hayball signed with the Saints as an undrafted free agent in the spring, having played college football at Vanderbilt. Like Hedley he hails from Australia but Hayball showed better hang time and distance on his kicks throughout training camp. When Hedley consistently came up short in the preseason games with too many line-drive punts and a poorly-timed touchback, it seemed to seal the deal.

Good luck to Hedley on his next opportunity. He was one of the better stories in the Saints locker room and he’ll land on his feet wherever he goes next. As for Hayball? We’ve seen the Saints dismiss all of their specialists and bring in someone new before if they weren’t getting the desired results. Maybe that repeats this time. Roster cuts will be finalized at 3 p.m. CT. on Tuesday but more movement is expected throughout the week.

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