By Ross Jackson
The New Orleans Saints announced a late availability status change ahead of their Monday night game against the Green Bay Packers.
The team announced Monday afternoon that defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd is now questionable with an eye ailment.
Whether or not the issue is an eye injury or some other condition change is presently unclear. Teams will do a walkthrough and additional work after traveling to their host city. It is possible that during that additional work, Shepherd was accidentally hit in the eye or something similar.
If Shepherd, who has 32 combined tackles and 1.5 sacks so far this season, is unable to take the field, rookie defensive tackle Khristian Boyd could be called into action.
Boyd has been inactive multiple times this season.
Losing talent on an interior defensive line that already struggles against the run is less than ideal. But getting a look at yet another young talent like Boyd, even on limited snaps, could be beneficial for a team already eliminated from playoff contention.
