Saints place Sheldon Rankins, Marcus Davenport on injured reserve
The New Orleans Saints have lost two of their key defensive players for the rest of the season, as defensive end Marcus Davenport and defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins have been placed on season-ending injured reserve. Both were injured during the loss to the 49ers on Sunday.
As reported on Tuesday evening, Rankins was feared to be lost for the season. The news was confirmed on Wednesday, as it's an ankle injury for the third-year star. As for Davenport, he sought a second opinion from Dr. Robert Anderson according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Ultimately, he will have surgery to repair a Lisfranc injury.
The Saints already signed veteran Noah Spence to fill the void left by Davenport, while they've also added T.Y. McGill in place of Rankins. New Orleans will likely use both as rotational players, as Trey Hendrickson, Mario Edwards Jr, and Carl Granderson are sure to see more snaps going forward. On the interior line, the team typically uses David Onyemata and Malcom Brown as their top tandem, and rotate in rookie Shy Tuttle. McGill will undoubtedly fill in there, but Edwards Jr. can also push inside.
Since the Saints play on Monday Night Football, we'll get the first official injury report on Thursday to check on the status of other defensive players like Kiko Alonso (thigh) and A.J. Klein (knee). However, injuries never come at a good time in the season.
