Lucas Patrick absent again from Saints practice

By Ross Jackson

METAIRIE, La. — Not much movement for the New Orleans Saints when it comes to attendance during the open portion of Saturday’s practice. As they prepared for their Monday night game, the Saints took the field for their final practice of the week. The team has been practicing on the outdoor field when weather permits this week to better be ready for the outdoor Arrowhead Stadium. It looks like they have gotten about as healthy as they are going to be heading into their primetime matchup.

Here is the attendance from the open portion of practice:

Not Seen:

LB Willie Gay Jr. (Hand)

TE Taysom Hill (Ribs)

G Cesar Ruiz (Knee)

OL Lucas Patrick (Groin)

C/G Shane Lemieux (Ankle)

DE Payton Turner (Knee)

Sidework:

DL Tanoh Kpassagnon (Achilles)

This was effectively the same as Friday’s attendance with just a couple of differences. One small difference was that Gay Jr. was observing during the open media portion of practice on Friday, but not today. However, he may have done so outside of the observation period. 

The big addition to the field for the Saints was defensive lineman Tanoh Kpassagnon who was working off to the side with a training staff member throughout individual drills. This isn’t the same as opening his practice window, but it is a strong sign of progress as the defensive lineman looks to make his return after suffering an achilles injury over the offseason. 

The continued absence of Patrick, who was a midweek addition to the injury report with a groin issue, indicates that the team will be looking at yet another starting combination on their offensive line.

The final injury report, which will include gameday designations, will be released Saturday afternoon.