3 Players to Watch at Saints Camp Day 18
METAIRIE -- After making it back safely to the Big Easy, the New Orleans Saints are set to resume practices back on Airline Drive. With joint practices with the Houston Texans nows canceled, the team will go back to practicing against familiar competition for the entire week. Coming off of the win against the Los Angeles Chargers in their second exhibition game last week, there are a few players worth major attention either because they impressed, or missed their chance to impress in Los Angeles.
Aug 20, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; New Orleans Saints tightened Shaq Davis catches a pass over Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Cam Brown (38) during the third quarter at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
WR Shaq Davis
After two impressive preseason games and a solid week during joint practices with the Chargers, Davis is in line to push for more than just a spot on the practice squad. Ultimately, it will all come down to how many wideouts the Saints keep, and whether or not they feel Davis can contribute on special teams. If he can, there is a chance that, and his play at wide receiver could convince New Orleans to give the undrafted rookie a real shot at the 53-man roster. Even if he does not make the team initially, however, there is a chance that he still sees playing time as a gameday elevation from the practice squad.
Another bit to keep an eye out on here: the injury status of fellow receiver Tre’Quan Smith. Unlike his colleague, Rashid Shaheed, Smith has not been spotted around the team since being diagnosed with a groin injury. Should Smith need to miss time during the regular season, New Orleans could choose to carry him on the 53-man roster and move him to injured reserve, then opening up a spot for Davis to step in at wide receiver.
DE Isaiah Foskey
The rookie edge defender made a huge play against the Chargers in joint practices. Pressuring quarterback Easton Stick into throwing an interception taken away by linebacker D’Marco Jackson. Outside of that though,, Foskey has not been the disruptive presence we expected he would be considering his collegiate production and traits. The team will of course be very patient with Foskey just as they have been to his cohort Payton Turner. However, it would ease a lot of minds to see Foskey turn it up this last week of the preseason
TE Lucas Krull
After returning from a tailbone injury, the young tight end missed a couple of opportunities to impress in Sunday’s preseason win against the Chargers. He dropped a well delivered pass by rookie quarterback Jake Haener up the seam, and had a couple other miscues as well. Krull has proven over and over again that he can be impactful as a pass catcher, so it is worth giving him the benefit of the doubt this week. With Jimmy Graham likely sidelined while undergoing further medical testing connected to what the team referred to as a “medical episode” in Costa Mesa, Krull will have the chance to impress the Saints brass with additional snaps
