Disaster struck the New Orleans Saints in their preseason finale against the Los Angeles Chargers when rookie left tackle Trevor Penning left the game on a medical trainer’s cart. The situation was already dicey with James Hurst, the projected starter at the position, sidelined with his own injury. But Saints head coach Dennis Allen addressed both situations after the game.
“I feel like James Hurst is going to be back sooner than later,” Allen told reporters Friday evening, adding that Penning has been diagnosed with a toe injury but will undergo further evaluations. Veteran backup Derrick Kelly filled in for Penning after he exited the Chargers game, with Hurst already inactive.
That’s about as good of news as we could hope for. The team has two weeks to heal up before the regular season begins in Atlanta, and Hurst’s steady progress (after initially wearing a medical boot early this week, he was recently spotted without it and doing conditioning work on a stationary bike during practice) suggests he’ll be ready to roll. That’s backed up by Allen’s words, though we’ll obviously have to wait and see what’s filed on the injury report before kickoff.
The bigger issue, for Penning, is that the rookie needs to stay healthy so he can get more practice reps in and work on his techniques. He’s made a difficult transition from Northern Iowa to the NFL, and while he has improved on a week-to-week basis he’s still a ways off from being ready to start in real games. Any time he misses in the trainer’s room is going to slow his development. But it’s better to miss weeks rather than months.
Update: Multiple reports now say that Penning is believed to have suffered a turf toe injury. Further tests will give him and the team an idea of his recovery timeline.
