Six starters absent from Saints practice Tuesday

By Ross Jackson

METAIRIE, La. — On a short week, it is tough to get players back from injury, so this should be of no surprise. The New Orleans Saints had several key starters missing, five on offense and one on defense, at Wednesday’s practice. Add that to the Saints’ Injured Reserve list, which also features a pair of starters, and the challenge mounts as the Saints move to within two days of their next game.

Here is the attendance from Tuesday’s portion of Saints practice that was open to the media:

Not Seen:

QB Derek Carr (Oblique)

TE Taysom Hill (Rib)

WR Chris Olave (Concussion)

LB Pete Werner (Hamstring)

WR Rashid Shaheed (Knee)

G Cesar Ruiz (Knee)

Return:

C/G Lucas Patrick (Chest)

New:

WR Dante Pettis – No. 17

The Saints are bracing to be without their top pair of wide receivers in Olave and Shaheed. To help prepare for that, they added wide receiver Dante Pettis to their practice squad. New Orleans will be relying on a lot of young players at key positions on Thursday.

Ruiz’ knee injury looks likely to keep him out for a fourth consecutive week. Injured Reserve may have been an option for him, but it seems New Orleans opted against that. Ideally that should mean that with the “mini-bye” on the way, he could be set to return soon. Otherwise, questions will circulate as to why Injured Reserve wasn’t the chosen path. On the interior offensive line, seeing Patrick back at practice is a big boost. The Saints started last week with three backup interior offensive linemen, getting even one starter back on the inside could be very helpful for rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler.

Denver deploys the most 5-man defensive fronts in the NFL, per Next Gen Stats. Having your offensive line as healthy as it can be this week will be a must.