Saints-Rams Joint Practice Deemed a Success

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The New Orleans Saints had their second joint practice in three days when they went up against the Los Angeles Rams at their home facility in California.

"That was fun working with those guys," head coach Kellen Moore told the media after their joint practice session with the Rams. "Obviously, we've worked with Sean (McVay) and them a number of times and have a good relationship with these guys."

Receiver Chris Olave was not seen on the practice field today, but Moore said it was just a rest day for the veteran wide out. "It was a kind of 'We'll see how Tuesday goes,' and then we'll work it as that. (Devaughn) Vele didn't have to go Tuesday (against the Cowboys in that slugfest of a practice session), and CO (Olave) didn't have to go today. It worked out well for all of us."

Receiver Bryce Lance saw extended time on the field against the Rams today, and Moore liked what he saw.

A birthday touchdown for Bryce Lance 🥳 pic.twitter.com/UIJ9WETADq
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) August 20, 2026

"Good work," Moore expounded, "contested catches against really talented corners. These guys (the Rams) have some good players on their defense, so that was awesome for him."

Two Joint Practices in a Week is Tough

Moore was asked what he was wanting to get out of the two joint practices this week.

"This was a big time workload," Moore explained. "We're pushing it pretty good with Tuesday and Thursday. That's just the way the schedule works. It's probably not the dream scenario of doing joint practices, but I thought it was excellent work for our guys. You could almost view it as kind of that peak point of training camp to do back-to-back right there. We'll play the game (on Saturday against the Rams), and then next week, we'll have two practices leading into Dallas (the final preseason game on August 29 in Texas)."

A Shorter Practice

Rams coach McVay had a shorter practice against the Saints than he expected.

"That was really because they (the Saints) had just gotten a lot of work on that Tuesday (with the Cowboys)," McVay explained. "They had some guys that were a little bit banged up. We were originally scheduled to be able to get like 48 plays in a team period in a two minute (drill) with our first group, so to able to say hey, we just turned off three plays that were kind of already structured, and then losing (the) two-minute, I was just grateful for the work and appreciated that Kellen and his guys made it work."

One Step at a Time

Moore would not elaborate on who would be starting on Saturday, even at the quarterback position, saying he and his coaches are still talking through it.

"We'll just kind of talk through the rotations of everyone," Moore clarified, "so our (the coaches) focus was really this practice, then this afternoon we'll kind of get into what the game is going to look like for everyone."

Injury Update

Among the injuries, center/guard Cesar Ruiz had an ankle issue and had to leave practice. Moore said they'd have to "see what that looks like." Defensive lineman John Ridgeway III didn't finish the session.

Saints-Cowboys Fined by NFL

Today, the NFL levied $500,000 team fines against both the Saints and the Cowboys after reviewing fights and multiple skirmishes during the joint practice in Oxnard, California. Saints wide receiver Brock Rechsteiner, whose video of slamming a Cowboy on the ground went viral, was not issued an individual fine.

Brock Rechsteiner, son of Scott Steiner, hits a German Suplex during the Cowboys and Saints joint practice today.

(🎥: @nofnetwork) pic.twitter.com/lZtqAS6D9M
— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) August 18, 2026

When asked to compare the two joint practices, the fight-marred Tuesday session with the Cowboys and today's practice with the Rams, Moore thought today was a better one.

"There was lot of non-football stuff in that joint practice (the one against the Cowboys), unfortunately," Moore confirmed. "I thought we had a really clean one today. We had a clean one with Jacksonville last week," comparing Tuesday to last week's session with the Jaguars in New Orleans.

Chandler Making a Move

With absence of Alvin Kamara and Audric Estime from the Rams joint practice, it was a chance for 5th year running back Ty Chandler to show his stuff. Moore was impressed.

Snuck right through 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/LYK5x00ZM3
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) August 20, 2026

"Ty has just continued to climb," Moore expressed, pointing his hand upwards, "coming into a new organization, getting more comfortable with it. I'd say we're trying to get these guys as many opportunities as we can with these preseason games. It's going to be fun, but challenging to figure out what this group of running backs is going to look like."

Running three joint practices and two preseason games in two weeks can be a challenge, but Moore felt like his group came through like gang busters.

"I thought we accomplished a lot," Moore expressed. "Those were some tough days. That's a lot of workload. We're proud of our guys' battle, and I think it's going to test our ability to play in an uncomfortable setting, which is good for us."

Friday is a walk through day in preparation for Saturday's second preseason game in Los Angeles against the Rams. Kickoff set for 3:00 p.m. Central Time.

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