There was a bit of an uproar from New Orleans Saints practice in London on Wednesday when starting quarterback Jameis Winston wasn’t spotted in attendance, with Andy Dalton running the first-team offense in his place and Taysom Hill backing him up. But Saints head coach Dennis Allen threw some cold water on the situation during his media availability afterwards.
“Really (his absence is) more just trying to rest and trying to make sure he’s healthy. I anticipate he’ll be back out there tomorrow,” Allen said.
It’ll take more than a day off to rest four fractured vertebrae and a sprained ankle, but it’s pretty clear Allen would rather continue playing a hobbled Winston over a healthy Dalton. We’ll see how things develop on this front in the days ahead, but it doesn’t feel like this is any sort of mind games being played to confuse the Minnesota Vikings.
As for Taysom Hill: Allen said during the offseason that his focus would be at tight end, and it is where he spent the most time throughout training camp and preseason, but on Wednesday Hill was seen practicing with the quarterbacks. A rib injury sidelined him last week, and Allen said that the plan has always been for Hill to “eventually get some more reps in the quarterback room,” and that this development isn’t a sign of any changes in the depth chart. So for now it’s still Winston, Dalton, and practice squad quarterback Jake Luton, with Hill somewhere in the mix.
