Here’s some good news. Alontae Taylor was a full participant at Tuesday’s New Orleans Saints practice session, signaling that the team has opened the three-week window for Alontae Taylor to return to practice. It’s a big development: the rookie cornerback was lost to injured reserve back on Sept. 24, but could return in time to reinforce a secondary that hasn’t met expectations in recent weeks. Taylor suffered an MCL strain in practice that made it hard to run with an injured knee, but he’s now practicing with his teammates and working to get back on the field on game days.
If Taylor is fully recovered within 21 days of returning to practice (and that could happen much sooner), he’ll come off of injured reserve and return to the 53-man roster. Hopefully his return is days away rather than weeks — the Saints secondary has been hit hard with injuries to top cornerback Marshon Lattimore, free safety Marcus Maye, and versatile backup P.J. Williams. Getting Taylor back in the mix should make it easier for the Saints to work around their other issues. Taylor is also a big help on special teams covering punts and kickoffs.
