Big day for the #Saints as CBs Marshon Lattimore and Bradley Roby returned to practice.
Buy Saints Tickets— Ross Jackson (@RossJacksonNOLA) November 23, 2022
There are lots of positives coming out of Wednesday’s New Orleans Saints practice. Topping the list is the return of star cornerback Marshon Lattimore. Along with him nickel corner Bradley Roby, defensive ends Marcus Davenport and Cameron Jordan as well as running back Mark Ingram also found their way back to the field.
Lattimore has missed six games since a serious abdominal injury (lacerated kidney) sidelined him after the Week 5 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks. While it is not for certain that he will be in the field Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, his return to practice is encouraging. Per John Hendrix of Sports Illustrated, Lattimore is testing things out to see what he can manage.
Roby returning to practice likely signals that his return window from injured reserve is open. If he makes it back for the 49ers game, he will have only missed the required four-game minimum. The play of young corners Paulson Adebo and Alontae Taylor has been outstanding in their stead, but certainly getting Lattimore and Roby back would be nothing but a positive for the team.
If both corners do make their return to the field Sunday, it will be interesting to see whether Adebo or Taylor will get the nod opposite Lattimore. Both have played well as Adebo has gotten healthier over the season and Taylor has impressed throughout the entirety of his rookie campaign thus far. The intended starting New Orleans secondary of Lattimore, Adebo, Roby and safeties Marcus Maye and Tyrann Mathieu have not yet taken a snap together in the 2022 season. That could change this weekend.
Anybody want to take a guess how many snaps Marshon Lattimore, Paulson Adebo, Bradley Roby, Tyrann Mathieu and Marcus Maye have played together this season?
I'll save you the research. The answer is zero.
— Luke Johnson (@ByLukeJohnson) November 10, 2022
The defense could get further boosts with returns in the trenches as well. Both Saints starting defensive ends were inactive with injury in the win over the Los Angeles Rams. For Jordan it was his first career game missed due to injury with, and it does not look like he intends to miss a second.
The offense could see a jolt as well with star running back Alvin Kamara’s running mate Ingram on the mend. And the long-awaited debut of their rookie first-round tackle could be in the way as well. Penning’s 21-day practice window activated a few weeks ago and his participation has stepped up each day. But even if he is not ready to take a snap this weekend, the return of Hurst is a positive.
More context and details will be released along with the injury report later Wednesday afternoon. And of course things will shift and evolve over the week. But so far so good for the Saints on the injury front.
