The Saints will once again be short handed for another game, this time though they’ll be short handed on the coaching staff as well with Sean Payton testing positive for Covid. No news has been reported about Adam Trautman playing this week, or about the absence of Malcolm Jenkins.
Sean Payton tests positive for Covid
After missing Wednesday’s practice and returning to practice Thursday, head coach Sean Payton tested positive for Covid Friday morning and is isolated. He was one of the first NFL players/staff to get Covid which was back in March of 2020.
With Sean Payton testing positive for Covid, he will miss Sunday’s game vs the Buccaneers. In place of Sean Payton, defensive coordinator Dennis Allen will take over as head coach for Sunday. Allen prior to joining the Saints was the head coach of the Raiders and has some experience being a head coach. Allen will call the defense and make the decisions as to when the Saints should go for 2, go for it on fourth down and other similar situations.
Offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael will take over as the offensive play caller on Sunday. Carmichael has been with the Saints for 16 years, and in that time frame he’s been the offensive play caller a various amount of times. He called the final nine games of the 2011 regular season along with playoffs and all of the 2012 season. During the 2016 season he handled offensive play calls for the first 10 games.
Around the 2011-2012 portions of the season when Carmichael called plays the offense averaged around 33.2 points per game. It will be different not having Sean Payton, but Carmichael is an effective play caller and has the best grasp of the team other than Payton.
Nick Vannett dealing with minor injury
Tight end Nick Vannett, who has been solid for the Saints in recent weeks is currently dealing with a minor finger injury. He has a torn tendon in his right index finger and will play with a splint on it. It’s a similar injury to Taysom Hill’s Mallet finger, but not as severe. He will play this Sunday, it will just be something to monitor.
Torn tendons in the finger usually take 4-6 weeks to heal if a splint is worn at all times. It’s unclear if his injury occurred during last weeks game vs the Jets or during practice this week.
Nick Vannett could have a big role in the offensive game plan, for the full breakdown as to why, click here.
Mark Ingram returns to practice
Running back Mark Ingram returned to practice on Friday after missing 10 days with Covid and will play in Sunday’s game vs the Buccaneers. Ingram will provide some help to the offense and take some weight off the shoulders of Alvin Kamara.
Malcolm Jenkins not at practice or on injury report
Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins wasn’t at practice, the situation is currently uncertain. Jenkins wasn’t on the injury report either, which usually means the player would be placed on the Covid list or on injured reserve. However with the transactions set, it’s still uncertain as to why he wasn’t at practice. Could’ve been a rest day, sickness, it’s unknown at the moment. Something to definitely monitor.
Final injury report
Saints
Out
Ryan Ramczyk (knee), Terron Armstead (knee), Garrett Griffin (hamstring)
Questionable
Lil’Jordan Humphrey (hamstring), Kaden Elliss (hamstring)
No game status (in)
Taysom Hill (finger), Chauncey Gardner Johnson (toe), Pete Werner (elbow), Marcus Davenport (shoulder)
Bucs
Out
Jamel Dean (illness)
Doubtful
Richard Sherman (achilles)
Questionable
Jordan Whitehead (calf), Leonard Fournette (ankle), Antoine Winfield (foot)
No game status (in)
Jason Pierre-Paul (shoulder), Bradley Pinion (right hip), Tom Brady (rest), Rob Gronkowski (rest), Ndamukong Suh (rest)
Transactions
The only transaction for the day is the activation of Mark Ingram off the Covid list.
Written By Kadin Janisch
If you need to contact me email me at whodattnation@gmail.com and I’ll try to get back to you.
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