Absences & Injuries on Day 7 of Saints Training Camp

Sign up for the daily Saints Newsletter by Clicking here.

Saints training camp saw the squad practice in front a sold out crowd at their Metairie facility. Spectators were given hand-held fans with a black background with a gold goat and the number 9 in black in celebration of the newest Saint in the NFL Hall of Fame. Drew Brees was inducted today in ceremonies that started at11:00 a.m. in Canton, Ohio.

Today's practice was scheduled to run until 10:48 a.m., but Mother Nature had other plans. A quickly moving cell of showers came in from the East. There was a threat of lightening in the area, and, sure enough, the Saints lightening warning system blasted across the field at 10:33. The team was starting to go in, but head coach Kellen Moore had them finish the few plays that remained. The whistle blew at 10:35 a.m. and the team ended the day.

Saints receiver Kevin Austin Jr goes up for a pass in 1-on-1 | On SI Saints - Doug Joubert

O-Line Setup Today

When Tyler Shough was in at quarterback during warm-up time in the covered facility, the offensive line had Kelvin Banks Jr, David Edwards, Erik McCoy, Dillon Radunz, and Taliese Fuaga.

With Spencer Rattler at QB, we saw Xavier Truss, William Sherman, Cesar Ruiz, Easton Kitty, and Asim Richards.

Saints Practice Sidelines | On SI Saints - Doug Joubert

Good Practice, Injury Scares

Moore told the media afterwards he felt they had a good day, overall.

During 11-on-11 practice, wide receiver Chris Olave had a little scare when he and cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry got tangled up. Olave fell to the turf and laid still for a few seconds. After making his way to the sidelines, the 5th year man made his way to the sidelines. His recovery was quick, as Olave was out on the next session with the Ones. On SI Saints' Colin Cummings reports Moore said Olave's knee "had a little something," but seems fine.

Though vague in his response, the news did not seem as good for center Dillon Radunz. Sometime early during the outdoor sessions, Radunz went down and did not return to the practice. Cummings again tells us Moore would not elaborate on the injury.

As mentioned earlier, Ruiz was working at center at times during the sessions today. Moore said its for backup purposes.

"We're giving Cesar more reps so he can be a backup center," Moore said to quash any rumors. "Cesar is still our starting right guard."

Saints receiver Ronnie Bell centering under the ball | On SI Saints - Doug Joubert

Some Day 7 Observations

This is some of what we saw today at the Saints practice facility:

- The team was still heavy on practicing the run game and its defense, though we can see more and more of the passing game being instituted.
- The Saints defensive backs are playing the receivers as if they have an extra layer of skin on them. The DBs are physical, but not causing interference (in our book). A perfect example was the coverage by McKinstry on Olave we mentioned earlier in 11-on-11 practice. Even during 1-on-1 drills, we witnessed McKinstry seeming to have Olave's number a few times in coverage.
- Kicker Tanner Brown, brought on to give some competition to last year's PK, Charlie Smyth, was off to the side for awhile, practicing long distance kicks by himself. The first year player out of Oklahoma State consistently hit 50-plus yarders, granted without a rush, snap, or holder.

Training Camp Schedule

Here's the practice schedule for the week:

- Sunday, 9:00-11:00 a.m., Pads (SOLD OUT)
- Monday, OFF DAY
- Tuesday, 9:00-10:35 a.m., Pads (Closed)
- Wednesday, 9:00-10:15 a.m., Helmets (Closed)
- Thursday, 9:00-11:00 a.m., Pads (SOLD OUT)
- Friday, TBD, Walk-Thru (Closed)\
- Saturday, Saints vs. Jaguars, 3:00 p.m., Superdome

Mailbag Submissions

Mondays, On SI Saints will answer your questions about what we see from our vantage point. To submit your thoughts or inquiries click here.

Add us as a preferred source on Google