Saints’ first injury report for Week 1 is encouraging for New Orleans stars
The 2024 regular season has finally begun, and most teams are currently as healthy as they’ve ever been. The reality of football is that injuries are inevitable, and every week teams either lose players or players develop a stubborn injury that they have to deal with all season.
Unfortunately, the New Orleans Saints are not entering the season as one of the healthiest teams, as they have struggled with several injuries during training camp. Ryan Ramczyk has already been sidelined for the entire season and star cornerback Marshon Lattimore missed most of training camp due to a hip injury. The good news, however, is that most players appear to be back to 100% fitness by the time the regular season begins.
That was evident in New Orleans’ first injury report of the season. After practice on Wednesday, the Saints released the first edition of their Week 1 injury report, and although eight players were on the list, fans should be encouraged.
|
Player (Position) |
Injury |
Status of exercises on Wednesday |
|---|---|---|
|
Pete Werner (LB) |
shoulder |
Complete training |
|
Willie Gay Jr. (LB) |
Back |
Restricted practice |
|
Marshon Lattimore (centreback) |
Hip |
Restricted practice |
|
Nick Saldiveri (G) |
Calf |
Restricted practice |
|
Jaylan Ford (LB) |
Paralyze |
Haven’t practiced |
|
Dallin Holker (TE) |
ankle |
Haven’t practiced |
|
D’Marco Jackson (running leg) |
Calf |
Haven’t practiced |
|
Khalen Saunders (DT) |
Calf |
Haven’t practiced |
Based on the names and positions alone, this would be an incredibly concerning injury report, especially for the linebacker position – there are two starting linebackers and two depth linebackers listed. However, the individual statuses for Wednesday’s practice give a more promising outlook.
If a player practices in any capacity on Wednesday, he usually has a pretty good chance of playing, so Pete Werner, who had a full practice, and Willie Gay Jr., Marshon Lattimore and Nick Saldiveri, who had limited practice, are in a pretty good position.
Things aren’t looking so good for the four players who didn’t practice. However, it was already reported that Khalen Saunders would be out for a couple of weeks, and furthermore, none of the four players who missed Wednesday’s practice are regulars. That’s not to say their potential absences aren’t important, but they wouldn’t be as difficult for the Saints to absorb if they were regulars.
Ultimately, it’s still pretty early in game week. New Orleans still has a few practices to complete before the team determines game status, and things can change between now and kickoff.
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