The Saints practiced without wide receiver Chris Olave for the second straight day on Thursday.
Olave has missed both days of practice with an illness. The Saints will issue injury designations for Sunday’s road game against the Giants on Friday.
Linebacker Kaden Elliss (calf), defensive lineman Damon Godchaux (rest), linebacker Anfernee Jennings (knee), and defensive lineman Nathan Shepherd (illness) were also out of practice.
Defensive lineman Vernon Broughton (illness), running back Alvin Kamara (back), and defensive back Lorenzo Styles (knee) were limited participants. Quarterback Tyler Shough (left hand), linebacker Tyree Wilson (ankle), long snapper Zach Wood (calf), defensive lineman Colby Wooden (toe), and guard Jeremiah Wright (concussion) were listed as full participants.
Saints Clips
The Giants are 3-1-1 heading into Sunday’s home game against a 1-4 Saints team that was excoriated by their owner this week, but oddsmakers don’t view the Giants as heavy favorites to win that game.
In fact, the oddsmakers don’t view them as favorites at all. There are slight differences from sportsbook to sportsbook, but the consensus has settled on the Saints being favored by 1.5 points in Week 6. It’s closer to a toss-up based on the moneyline, but the edge that New Orleans has on the point spread is enough for defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson to use as grist for the motivational mill heading into the game.
“We love playing at MetLife Stadium and being underdogs. . . . Everybody counts us out,” Wilson said, via Dan Duggan of TheAthletic.com. “We like playing with a chip on our shoulder.”
The Giants were also underdogs to the Cardinals at home in Week 4 and they won the game by 12 points, so Wilson has every reason to feel comfortable with how the outside world is viewing his team this week.
Saints owner Gayle Benson’s decision to publicly air her frustrations about the team’s 1-4 start earlier this week drew a lot of attention because of how blunt she was about her disappointment and how rarely she shares her views about the state of the franchise.
Quarterback Tyler Shough was among those who caught what Benson had to say and he said on Wednesday that Benson “wasn’t saying anything that wasn’t already known” about how things have unfolded so far this season. Shough said that the team shares Benson’s desire for better results and that they are not going to change their approach to the job because she has gone public with them.
“You obviously see it, it’s all over social media,” Shough said. “It doesn’t affect our day-to-day process and we can’t let it regardless. We win a game and you’re the greatest people ever, and you lose some games and it’s the worst thing ever. So I’ve said it before: We’re going to have a really good chance to go on a run here. I think it starts with controlling what we can and all of a sudden the narrative changes, or not and we continue to slip and we’ve got to find a way to control that.”
A trip to New Jersey to face the Giants will be the Saints’ first chance to shift the narrative with a trip to Paris to face the Steelers and a bye week on tap from there. If they can get to that bye at 3-4, things should feel a little less pressured in New Orleans but the alternative won’t have anyone resting easy about what kind of changes could be in the franchise’s future.
Saints owner Gayle Benson didn’t pull any punches in her assessment of the team’s start to the season in a speech on Tuesday.
Benson said that the team’s fans are right to be upset about their play during a 1-4 start and that she “will not accept this level of performance as our standard.” Benson also said she is “committed to making the decisions necessary to improving this team” and it was hard not to read those comments as a mandate for those currently in charge of the team to show that improvement or find new places to work.
That group includes head coach Kellen Moore and his Wednesday press conference opened with several questions about Benson’s speech. Moore said he did not feel an increased sense of urgency because he already understood that “we all want better results” and that everyone in the organization is doing all they can to create them.
“It’s where we’re at. We’re 1-4, missed a few opportunities right there,” Moore said. “We all want the same thing. We’re all shooting for that. We’ve all got the same objectives and we just gotta get better moving forward.”
Wanting the same things that Benson is talking about and achieving them are different things, which makes it all the more incumbent on Moore and the rest of the staff showing that they can do the latter before ownership decides that someone else will have a better chance of succeeding.
The Giants kicked off the practice week without linebacker Abdul Carter on the field.
Carter sat out of practice and the team is listing him with a calf injury. Carter had five tackles and a sack in last Sunday’s tie with the Commanders.
Head coach John Harbaugh said at his press conference that Carter is “doing well,” but offered no other comment about his health.
Right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (calf), cornerback Colton Hood (concussion), safety Tyler Nubin (neck), and left tackle Andrew Thomas (groin) were also out of practice. Tight end Theo Johnson (neck), wide receiver Darnell Mooney (neck), cornerback Greg Newsome (groin), and safety Jason Pinnock (concussion) were limited participants.
Defensive back Elijah Campbell (thumb), running back Najee Harris (ribs), and tight end Isaiah Likely (foot) were listed as full participants.
Ongoing social unrest in Paris has raised questions regarding the Steelers-Saints game due to be played there in 11 days.
On Wednesday, the league issued a statement indicating that it’s full steam ahead in the land of berets and really long, skinny loaves of bread.
“We’re excited for the first-ever regular season game in Paris, and preparations continue as scheduled for NFL events and the game at Stade de France on October 25,” the NFL said in a statement, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN. “As we do for every NFL game, including our international games, we work closely with local authorities and partners on all operational and security matters. We look forward to welcoming fans to Paris later this month.”
Whether they “look forward” to it and whether it will actually happen are two different things. And if the NFL ultimately concludes that the staging of the game will present safety issues for anyone involved, the NFL surely will reconsider its plans.
The most obvious alternative would be to play the game in New Orleans. When the NFL decided in 2018 that the field in Mexico City was unsuitable for play, the Chiefs-Rams game was moved to L.A.
The Saints waived cornerback Jayden Price two days after he fumbled the opening kickoff in the second half against the Vikings.
He made three tackles in five games, playing 112 special teams snaps.
The Saints also cut undrafted rookie Brock Rechsteiner, who was on the reserve/suspended list and never played. Rechsteiner, the son of WWE Hall of Famer Scott Steiner, was suspended six games by the NFL.
The team terminated the contract of long snapper Cal Adomitis, and it re-signed cornerback Decamerion Richardson.
Richardson, a fourth-round pick of the Raiders in 2024, originally joined the Saints off waivers from Las Vegas. He played two games for the Saints and totaled one special teams tackle.
The Saints also cut running back Ulysses Bentley and wide receiver Trey Palmer from the practice squad.
Seats are starting to heat up in New Orleans.
The Saints lost to the Vikings in Week 5 to fall to 1-4 on the season. The last three losses came in a row and all three came at the Superdome, including a Monday night drubbing at the hands of the Vikings on a night when the Saints celebrated the 20th anniversary of their post-Katrina return to the stadium.
On Tuesday, owner Gayle Benson said that loss “truly disappointed me” during a speech at the Greater New Orleans Quarterback Club Luncheon that left no doubt about how disappointed she is with the team’s performance in general. Benson said fans “are right to expect more than we have delivered” through the first five weeks of the season.
“As the owner, the responsibility does start with me,” Benson said, via Rod Walker of NOLA.com. “I will not make excuses and I will not accept this level of performance as our standard. I am committed to making the decisions necessary to improving this team. Everyone on this organization understands the urgency. We must prepare better, execute consistently and correct mistakes that are costing us the games.”
Benson didn’t issue any ultimatums about a more acceptable standard of play, but she did vow to hold people accountable if the Saints are not able to right their ship in the coming weeks.
“Kellen Moore and his coaches are responsible for preparing our players to perform,” Benson said. “Mickey Loomis and our football staff are responsible for building a roster capable of sustained success. The players are responsible for their preparation and execution. I am responsible for holding this organization accountable.”
Moore is in his second season as the head coach while Loomis has been the General Manager since 2002. The Saints are 7-15 since Moore was hired in 2025 and it sounds like that record will need to get a lot better in order for anyone to feel secure about returning in 2027.
Through a brief appearance in Week 1 and a pair of starts in Week 3 and Week 4, Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray didn’t seem much like Kyler Murray. The offensive rookie of the year version. The two-time Pro Bowler version. The Road Runner version.
On Sunday, “meep meep” made its way to New Orleans.
Murray looked like the Murray of old again. He completed 24 of 30 passes for 229 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 109.6. He added 51 rushing yards on 10 attempts.
Per the Vikings, the performance made Murray the first quarterback in franchise history to throw for 200 or more yards with an 80-percent completion percentage while rushing for 50 or more yards.
The first hint of the offense waking up came last week, after the Dolphins cut the score of the Week 4 game to 12-10 late in the third quarter. Murray engineered the drive that extended the lead to five and then, after a three-and-out, Murray guided the offense toward consuming the rest of the clock.
Indeed, since Miami’s touchdown on the next-to-last play of the third quarter, Murray has completed 36 of 43 passes (83.7 percent).
It felt different this week, with Murray playing well from the start of the game to the finish. Even with a couple of significant momentum-shifting miscues, Murray and the Minnesota offense were never rattled. After the Saints returned a Myles Price fumble 87 yards for the game-tying touchdown, the Vikings drove 70 yards in six plays for the go-ahead touchdown. One more scoring drive provided the final margin of 23-13.
Now, the Vikings enter their bye with a chance to get healthy and prepare for games against the Colts, Lions, Bills, Packers, and 49ers in a Sunday night showdown in Mexico City.
After five weeks, Minnesota remains undefeated.
The Vikings’ defense was excellent against the Saints on Sunday, leading the club to a 23-13 victory.
New Orleans’ offense looked dazed and confused throughout the afternoon, with Tyler Shough completing 16-of-25 passes for just 96 yards with two interceptions.
The Saints did not even reach 10 first downs in the contest, finishing with nine. The offense had 142 total yards — averaging 3.3 yards per play — and was just 2-of-10 on third down.
The Vikings could have had more points if not for two critical fumbles in the red zone. Aaron Jones had one in the first half inside the 10-yard line. Myles Price had the other in the third quarter, which led to the Saints tying the game on an 87-yard fumble return.
But a missed extra point prevented the Saints from taking a one-point lead.
That likely wouldn’t have stopped the Vikings from eventually winning, as Minnesota went up with an 8-yard touchdown run by Jones in the fourth quarter. The club then got a 55-yard field goal by Will Reichard to close out the scoring.
Kyler Murray played well, completing 24-of-30 passes for 229 yards with a touchdown. He also rushed for 51 yards on 10 attempts. Playing in his home state, Justin Jefferson was on the receiving end of Murray’s touchdown, finishing with six catches for 79 yards.
Jones had 113 yards on 25 carries with a TD.
Now at 5-0, Minnesota will be on a bye in Week 6.
The 1-4 Saints will be on the road to face the Giants next week.
