Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
By Ross Jackson
METAIRIE, La. – After missing Thursday’s practice with a head injury, New Orleans Saints rookie safety Jonas Sanker was back on the field during the open portion of practice on Friday.
That’s positive news for the Saints, who appear to be prepared to go into Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers without starting safety Justin Reid. Sanker has had a strong rookie season thus far and has made good on both his potential and opportunity. Having him available this weekend against a still-talented, but hampered Tampa wide receiver corps is a plus.
While Sanker returned to action, the Saints were still without three players during the open portion of practice.
- S Justin Reid (knee)
- RB Alvin Kamara (knee/ankle)
- T Taliese Fuaga (ankle)
With Kamara appearing headed toward another missed game, the Saints look to be going into Sunday with the same trio of backs as last week. Rookie Devin Neal would be expected to lead the way while young backs Audric Estime and Evan Hull provide a rotation at the position.
If Reid is out, it’s reasonable to expect safety Ugo Amadi to be among those active Sunday with the possibility of elevating undrafted safety Elliott Davison, as well.
Fuaga, dealing with a different ankle injury than the one that sidelined him for a pair of games recently, does not look to be on track to take the field on Sunday. If that is indeed the case, tackle Asim Richards would likely be called into action, as he has been in the past, at right tackle.
After returning on Thursday, wide receiver Chris Olave was again present.
More New Orleans Saints
