Steve Gleason is currently recovering in the hospital after undergoing a medical event in the midst of Hurricane Francine hitting Louisiana.
Gleason, whose blocked punt in the team’s first game back in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina was one of the signature plays in Saints franchise history, experienced a high fever and low blood pressure on Wednesday, according to Katherine Terrell of ESPN. Gleason, who has been battling ALS for years, was advised by his doctors to get to the hospital.
Unfortunately, with Hurricane Francine making landfall, there were concerns about whether first responders would be able to get to Gleason and get him to the hospital. However, Gleason’s publicist, Clare Durrett, said they were able to reach him amid the storm and get him to the hospital.
“They immediately stabilized him and transported him to Ochsner [Medical Center in Jefferson, Louisiana],” Durrett said. “He remains there and stable. He’s continuing to be treated and we are hopeful Steve will do what Steve does and warrior through to get home as quickly as possible.”
Gleason played for the Saints from 2000 to 2006. He was diagnosed with ALS in 2011.
Saints Clips
The Cowboys’ depth at tight end will be tested Sunday against the Saints.
Only two Dallas players have designations for Week 2, and both play tight end. John Stephens (hamstring) already is ruled out, and starter Jake Ferguson (knee) is doubtful.
Luke Schoonmaker, a second-round pick in 2023, is expected to make his first career start. He played 368 snaps last season as a rookie and made eight receptions for 65 yards and two touchdowns.
Brevyn Spann-Ford also is on the active roster at the position, and Princeton Fant could get a call up from the practice squad.
Ferguson’s injury looked far worse than what it was as he was diagnosed with a Grade 1 medial collateral ligament sprain. Though Ferguson said earlier this week he thought he could play this week, he did not practice.
Ferguson made three catches for 15 yards before exiting the opener.
Rookie defensive end Marshawn Kneeland (calf) returned to a full practice Friday and does not have a designation. He sat out Wednesday’s practice and was limited Thursday.
Left tackle Taliese Fuaga and cornerback Marshon Lattimore remained out of practice on Friday, but the Saints haven’t ruled either player out for Sunday’s game against the Cowboys.
Fuaga and Lattimore are both listed as questionable for Week Two. Fuaga was limited by a back injury Wednesday before sitting out the next two days. Lattimore missed all three days of practice with a hamstring injury.
Safety Tyrann Mathieu (heel) and tight end Foster Moreau (concussion) were both full participants on Friday and have no injury designations.
Linebacker Jaylen Ford (hamstring), defensive end Isaiah Foskey (back), and defensive tackle Bryan Bresee (illness) are also listed as questionable.
The Saints ruled out linebacker D’Marco Jackson and defensive tackle Khalen Saunders with calf injuries.
Tom Brady made his broadcasting debut, if you haven’t heard, last Sunday in Cleveland for Cowboys-Browns. This week, he’s working another Dallas game.
He’ll be on the call for the Saints-Cowboys game at 1:00 p.m. ET. That’s primarily because, this week, CBS has the doubleheader game — Bengals-Chiefs.
The better option for Brady would have been Seahawks-Patriots, given that it’s a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX. And given that Brady knows a thing or two about the Patriots.
That said, the Saints-Cowboys game likely will go to more of America, because the Cowboys continue to be America’s Team. Also, given Brady’s extreme restrictions on access (due to his looming purchase of a piece of the Raiders), the more he works Cowboys games, the easier it will be for him to prepare.
Brady’s results in his first game were mixed, as expected. Fox allowed the hype to get out of control. He was destined to underachieve. Especially since broadcasting games seems to be beneath him — even at $37.5 million per year.
Everything gets better with reps. And, in a roundabout way, Brady’s largely ordinary performance and largely ordinary (at best) speaking voice will authentically humanize him. Since it’s not the product of a deliberate effort to be humanized.
Like that roast was.
The Cowboys cruised to a 33-17 win over the Browns in the first week of the regular season, but the final score could have been even more lopsided if the offense produced at the level it hopes to reach each week.
Kicker Brandon Aubrey kicked four field goals and the Cowboys punted six times, including three kicks at the end of three-and-outs in the second half. That’s why quarterback Dak Prescott feels the unit “left a lot of meat on the bone” and right guard Zack Martin believes that when the “kill shot is in our view, we need to jump on it.”
“We weren’t able to put that team away when we had the chance,” Prescott said, via the team’s website. “Defense did a great job of it but, for us, it’s about moving forward. We’re one of the best third down teams we’ve been, so it’s about getting back on track with that [and] converting those and, when you do, you get more chances at the plate, you get more plays and that’s when just the big plays come naturally in our offense.”
The Cowboys defense had a pair of takeaways and KaVontae Turpin returned a punt for a touchdown, so there wasn’t much to complain about from a full-team perspective. On days when everything else doesn’t fall into place, the Cowboys will need their offense to be more precise and that’s the message two of the team’s leaders are sending as they head into a Week Two date with the Saints.
Word coming out of Week One was that Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore was dealing with a minor hamstring injury, but it’s been serious enough to keep him from practicing.
Lattimore missed practice for the second straight day on Thursday. The team may be resting him with an eye on having him ready to go against CeeDee Lamb and the Cowboys on Sunday, so Friday’s injury designation will be telling.
Left tackle Taliese Fuaga (back) also missed practice after being limited to start the week. Safety Tyrann Mathieu is moving in a better direction as he was limited by a heel injury after missing practice altogether on Wednesday.
Linebacker D’Marco Jackson (calf) was the only other player out of practice. Guard Lucas Patrick (toe) and linebacker Jaylen Ford (hamstring) were limited participants while tight ends Dallin Holker (ankle) and Foster Moreau (concussion) were bumped up to full participation.
The Saints had coaches spend Wednesday night at the team facility out of an abundance of caution after Hurricane Francine made landfall in southeast Louisiana at 5 p.m. CT.
“We’ll probably find a corner of the room to lay down in at some point in time and get a little sleep,” Saints coach Dennis Allen said, via the Associated Press. “The most significant weather is going to be this evening into the early morning hours, and so that’s kind of when we’d be trying to wrap up. I don’t see anybody trying to get out of here in that type of weather.”
The Saints moved up practice an hour on their indoor field to allow players to get home to ride out the storm.
“We do have a job to do. Even when circumstances aren’t perfect, we still have to focus,” Saints quarterback Derek Carr said. “I’ll be home studying tonight, you know, but I’ll be doing it with all my kids sitting right next to me.
“I owe it to my teammates to be locked in and be ready to go for tomorrow. We’re human, but we also recognize we have a job to do. And we also recognize that, you know, our city has been through a lot. And so our prayers are with our whole state of Louisiana, you know, wherever this is passing through.”
Francine struck 30 miles southwest of Morgan City as a Category 2 storm.
The Saints headquarters has generator power and has held up in stronger storms than Francine, notably Katrina in 2005 and Ida in 2021. The team evacuated for those two storms, though.
Allen is hoping the Saints can return to a normal schedule Thursday if New Orleans avoids significant damage.
“We want everybody to be safe, and yet we still felt we could get our work done and keep everybody safe and not have to try to go through all the logistics to go through an evacuation,” Allen said.
Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson isn’t sure he will play Sunday, but the fact that it’s a possibility is a blessing.
Ferguson thought he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the season-opening victory over the Browns when he heard a pop.
“I’m like a starfish,” Ferguson said, via Todd Archer of ESPN.
Ferguson was diagnosed with a Grade 1 medial collateral ligament sprain. He said his pain level is a “zero” and he will try to run Thursday.
“Thankfully just a little bone bruise,” Ferguson said, via Jon Machota of TheAthletic.com.
The Cowboys hope he can play through it against the Saints.
Ferguson had three catches for 15 yards against the Browns.
Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson suffered a sprained MCL in Week One, but that may not keep him off the field for Week Two.
Cowboys owner and General Manager Jerry Jones said today on 105.3 The Fan that he’s optimistic Ferguson could play on Sunday against the Saints.
“We really did dodge a bullet,” Jones said. “He’s very excited about playing, I saw him right after our meetings yesterday and he was excited about it. Like everybody, I know he was worried sick when it initially happened. . . . It would have been a blow and we’re relieved about it.”
Ferguson is the Cowboys’ starting tight end and had three catches for 15 yards before leaving Sunday’s game against the Browns with the knee injury.
Linebacker Khaleke Hudson is on his way to Cleveland.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that the Browns are signing Hudson off of the Saints’ practice squad. There’s no word on any corresponding move.
Hudson signed with the Saints this offseason after spending his first four seasons with the Commanders. Hudson, who was a fifth-round pick in 2020, signed to the practice squad in New Orleans after being released last week and he played 24 snaps in Sunday’s win over the Panthers.
In 58 games with the Commanders, Hudson made 12 starts and had 108 tackles, a sack, and two passes defensed.
