Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu’s arrival at training camp was delayed by a personal family matter, but he reported on Wednesday and resumed practicing with the team.
Mathieu was limited in that session and he remained limited on Thursday, which is part of the plan to acclimate him to camp before he pushes himself to full speed. After Thursday’s practice, Mathieu held a press conference that saw him thank the team for their support and tell anyone listening that he’s feeling well after his time away from the team.
“To be honest, it’s been fairly supportive,” Mathieu said, via the team’s website. “From the team perspective, they’ve been really supportive — teammates, former teammates, a lot of different people being supportive. That was a great feeling to have that support, and to have that grace, really. I’m sure at some point I’ll be more transparent about the first six days of practice, but more importantly, just happy to be back around the guys. I’m feeling good, I’m in great spirits, really healthy. Everything that’s important is going good. Just in a good place and it’s all about ramping it up and getting back into it.”
Mathieu said he’s fighting the urge to do too much too soon because “bad things can happen” if you go too fast in a return to football activities. The Saints will do their best to help him avoid those things because they want Mathieu on the field when it counts this fall.