Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
By Ross Jackson
METAIRIE, La. — As the New Orleans Saints returned to the practice field for their Week 2 matchup with the San Francisco 49ers, defensive end Chase Young remained absent.
The defensive end missed last week’s game with a calf injury sustained in practice. Despite his absence, some clear roster adjustments do provide some optimism for the end’s eventual return.
Players not seen during the open portion of Saints practice Wednesday:
- S Julian Blackmon
- LG Trevor Penning
- DE Chase Young
- QB Hunter Dekkers
- LB Garrett Nelson
Some good news could be gleaned from the fact that defensive end Fadil Diggs is back on the practice squad from the looks of Wednesday’s practice. His return and Nelson’s absence could indicate that the Saints no longer feel that they need a backlog of defensive ends. Speculating further, that could indicate a hopeful return for Young some point soon.
Taliese Fuaga and defensive tackle John Ridgeway III were spotted at practice, but did not participate. Ridgeway was walking laps around areas of the field while Fuaga was seen on an exercise bike, not in uniform.
It will be interesting to see why Dekkers was not present. He and quarterback Jake Haener were re-signed to the practice squad on Tuesday.
Blackmon’s absence is, of course, no surprise after sustaining a reported torn labrum. It’s expected that he will soon head to Injured Reserve. Safety Terrell Burgess, who had missed recent practices with an undisclosed injury, looked to be a bit more involved in Wednesday.
