The Saints are getting a key offensive player back.
Per Tom Pelissero of Netflix, New Orleans plans to activate running back Travis Etienne for Sunday’s game against the Panthers.
Etienne has been sidelined since suffering a hamstring injury in Week 3.
After returning to practice this week, Etienne was upgraded to a full participant in practice on Friday.
In three games this season, Etienne has registered 128 yards on 30 carries and caught 11 passes for 51 yards.
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Friday’s nationwide ground stop won’t keep NFL teams from getting to their road games on Sunday. It will, however, impact the ability of officials to get to where they need to be.
The NFL has announced that officiating assignments have changed for Week 10. And the situation will result in a backup referee serving as the referee in two games on the same day.
“Due to the ongoing nationwide impact to air travel this weekend, the NFL has adjusted its officiating assignments for Week 10 games, reassigning officials to games within driving distance of their hometowns,” the NFL said in a statement. “The changes will necessitate that three backup referees — umpires Barry Anderson and Duane Heydt and side judge Don Willard [pictured] — will work as referees in the following games: Carolina-New Orleans – Duane Heydt; Jacksonville-Tennessee – Barry Anderson; Miami-Indianapolis and Pittsburgh-Cincinnati – Don Willard.
“Each of the league’s 17 officiating crews have a backup referee identified, and that individual trains throughout the year to work at the referee position should the need arise.”
The situation creates the likely unprecedented situation of a referee working two games in one day. Willard will handle Dolphins-Colts at 1:00 p.m. ET, and then he’ll make the 109-mile trip from Indianapolis to Cincinnati for the Sunday night game.
Making the unprecedented even more unusual is the fact that Willard’s usual crew (led by referee Scott Novak) wasn’t scheduled to work at all this weekend.
The announcement doesn’t address where the referees for those three games will be working, or what their roles will be. Shawn Smith was scheduled to be the referee for Panthers-Saints, Alex Moore was set to be the referee for Jaguars-Titans, Carl Cheffers was due to be the referee for Dolphins-Colts, and Clete Blakeman was slated to be the referee for Steelers-Bengals.
The league’s statement also doesn’t specify other shifts that were required as to the established crews that work together throughout the regular season.
In 2021, the NFL awarded a $4 million grant to Dr. Bryan Heiderscheit and his team at the University of Wisconsin to research new ways to prevent and treat hamstring injuries. Saints rookie wide receiver Jordyn Tyson may benefit from that research.
Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.Football reports that the Saints sent Tyson on two separate visits to the University of Wisconsin to be evaluated by Dr. Heiderscheit and his team.
Hamstring injuries have been a major problem for Tyson, who was out for three months with a hamstring injury before finally making his NFL debut last week. Tyson also missed time at Arizona State last year because of a hamstring injury, and he didn’t run at either Arizona State’s Pro Day or the NFL Scouting Combine because of his hamstring.
But there’s hope for Tyson after his evaluations in Wisconsin. Heiderscheit was able to identify a weakness with Tyson’s hamstring that he thinks can be strengthened with a specific workout regimen that Tyson has been following.
Heiderscheit previously worked with Packers wide receiver Christian Watson and helped him recover from hamstring injuries, and it worked: Watson has started every game this season and in nine games already has career-highs with 49 catches for 879 yards, and he’s leading the NFL with an average of 17.9 yards per catch.
That’s the kind of player the Saints think Tyson can be, if he can stay healthy. Heiderscheit’s treatment may be the key to Tyson staying healthy.
It’s not often that a matchup of two 3-5 teams carries major playoff implications. But it’s also not often that there’s a division as bad as this year’s NFC South.
On Sunday in New Orleans, the 3-5 Panthers will take on the 3-5 Saints, and the winner will have sole possession of first place in the NFC South.
The Panthers and Saints are currently tied, with the Panthers in first place thanks to a better division record. Sunday’s winner will be 4-5, a game ahead of the loser and also a game ahead of the 3-6 Buccaneers, who have their bye this week. The 3-6 Falcons face the Chiefs, and the betting odds say Atlanta is likely to fall to 3-7 after that game.
All four teams in the NFC South are bad, but someone has to win the division, and whoever that “someone” is will host a playoff game.
Saints running back Travis Etienne returned to practice on Wednesday as a limited participant.
A hamstring injury in Week 3 sent him to injured reserve.
The Saints have 21 days to activate him back to the active roster, but he could return as soon as Sunday.
“We’ll see,” head coach Kellen Moore said Wednesday, via Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.Football. “There’s some potential for it. But . . . we’ll just let the week kind of play out and see what it looks like.”
Etienne has 28 yards rushing, 51 yards receiving and no touchdowns.
Center Erik McCoy (biceps), running back Alvin Kamara (rest/back) and running back C.J. Donaldson (shoulder) did not practice.
Moore said Cesar Ruiz will start at center in McCoy’s absence with Jeremiah Wright taking Ruiz’s spot at right guard.
Offensive tackle Kevin Banks (ankle), offensive guard David Edwards (knee), cornerback Martin Emerson (shin), tight end Noah Fant (back) and defensive tackle Christian Miller (knee) were limited.
The Panthers designated three players for return from injured reserve on Wednesday and they got a couple of other starters back on the practice field as well.
Left guard Damien Lewis and linebacker Jaelan Phillips were both full participants in practice. Lewis missed the last two games with a knee injury and Phillips has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury.
Running back Jonathon Brooks (groin), cornerback Mike Jackson (groin), and wide receiver Xavier Legette (knee) were full participants after being designated for return. Cornerback Will Lee (hamstring), guard Torricelli Simpkins (ankle), offensive lineman Brady Christensen (hamstring), defensive tackle Lee Hunter (calf), and running back Trevor Etienne (ankle) also got in full practice sessions.
Linebacker Bobby Okereke (foot) and running back Chuba Hubbard (rest) were the only Panthers to miss practice.
The Cowboys are expected to sign running back Kendre Miller to the practice squad, Joseph Hoyt of the Dallas Morning News reports.
He visited the team facility today after the Saints cut him last week.
The Cowboys need depth at the position, with Tyler Goodson expected to miss multiple weeks with a knee injury. Fullback Hunter Luepke is the only player behind starting running back Javonte Williams on the active roster. Israel Abanikanda and Jashaun Corbin are on the practice squad, and it is unclear whether the Cowboys will cut one of them to sign Goodson.
Miller had 57 carries for 159 yards and two touchdowns in six games for New Orleans this season. The 2023 third-round pick had 184 carries for 656 yards and five touchdowns during his injury-plagued run with the Saints. He also caught 29 passes for 217 yards.
The Jaguars weren’t done trading when they swung a deal to acquire safety Jessie Bates on Monday morning.
Tom Pelissero of Netflix reports that they have also agreed to a trade with the Saints for defensive tackle Davon Godchaux. Other reports indicate a 2028 sixth-round pick will head back to New Orleans.
Bates is joining the team in a trade with the Falcons for a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round selection.
Godchaux appeared in all eight Saints games this season and he made five starts before moving into a reserve role for the last three contests. He had 15 tackles and a tackle for loss in those appearances.
Godchaux was in his second season with the Saints. He previously played for the Patriots and Dolphins. He and Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile overlapped with the Dolphins during the 2020 season.
The Jaguars lost DaVon Hamilton to a season-ending quad injury in Week 8 and Godchaux gives them another experienced option to help fill the void.
UPDATE 1:46 p.m. ET: Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the 2028 sixth-round pick is a conditional one. The Jaguars currently do not have a 2027 sixth-rounder, but will send one to the Saints if they acquire one at some point ahead of the draft.
Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders’s response to questions about the Saints defense leading into Sunday’s game drew the ire of Saints linebacker Carl Granderson and they remained on his mind after a 23-22 overtime win.
Granderson said before the game that the team would have a “chip on our shoulder” because of the smile that Sanders flashed when asked what he’d seen from the New Orleans defense. Granderson had a couple of sacks in the win and then opened his postgame press session by responding to a question about how much motivation the unit drew from Sanders.
“I mean, we seen a lot, you know, on film, so I do not think it was motivation. We saw them chirping,” Granderson said. “So we just came into this game ready to play. I think it is disrespectful for somebody to laugh at our defense, you know, take us as a joke. So we went out there and balled out. They had 2.8 yards in carry, and we stopped the run at 95 rushing yards on 34 attempts. So we did our thing on defense, and in overtime, the two-point conversion. So that was a good team win on defense.”
Sanders had his moments and the Browns would have won with a successful two-point play after a touchdown pass to tight end Harold Fannin in overtime. That would have likely led to a different response from Granderson, but the Saints made one last stop and they were able to get the last laugh as a result.
The Browns and Saints were tied at 6-6 midway through the fourth quarter.
But the game then became a barn burner in the final period and overtime, with a failed Cleveland two-point conversion allowing the Saints to escape with a narrow 23-22 victory.
New Orleans had taken a 9-6 lead with Charlie Smyth’s 48-yard field goal with 5:38 left in the contest. But the Browns immediately responded with a 64-yard touchdown catch by rookie KC Concepcion, who burned the defense off the line.
It was Concepcion’s first career touchdown.
The Browns, however, couldn’t hold the late lead. The team’s four-minute offense couldn’t convert enough first downs, leaving the Saints with time to get down the field. They were able to get in the end zone with Audric Estime’s 2-yard touchdown with 58 seconds on the clock, going ahead 16-13.
But Shedeur Sanders — playing after Deshaun Watson spent most of the week in concussion protocol — connected with Jerry Jeudy for a key 30-yard gain. The outstanding throw and catch set up Andre Szmyt for a game-tying 51-yard field goal to send the contest into overtime.
Juwan Johnson capped New Orleans’ OT possession with a 15-yard touchdown reception.
But Harold Fannin’s terrific catch-and-run put the Browns in position to tie it or win it with a 39-yard touchdown. Browns head coach Todd Monken elected to go for the win instead of settling for — at best — a potential tie. But Sanders’ throw to Denzel Boston was incomplete. Even if it had been caught, the Browns were flagged for holding.
Sanders finished the contest 19-of-31 for 297 yards with a pair of touchdowns.
On the other side, Tyler Shough was 21-of-35 for 265 yards with a TD.
Notably, New Orleans center Erik McCoy had to depart the game with an elbow injury.
The Saints have put themselves right back in the NFC South conversation at 3-5. They will have a chance to gain more ground in the division next Sunday, as they’ll play the Panthers at home.
The Browns have now dropped two in a row, falling to 5-4. They will play the Texans at home next Sunday before a Week 11 bye.
