METAIRIE, La. (WGNO) — With Jameis Winston sitting out with a sprained right foot, all eyes were on returning defensive end Marcus Davenport, who returns following surgery to his left hand that resulted in the partial amputation of his pinky finger.
Davenport looked crisp in drills, despite being behind his teammates in terms of workload and conditioning this summer.
“It was a good first day,” Davenport said. “I’d have to say all these guys have been able to do the offseason, workout in this heat, and kind of do all of our drills and do it all. But it’s an ongoing process. We’ll see.”
Taysom Hill drilled briefly with quarterbacks before spending the remainder of the session with the tight end grouping. Hill admittedly still wants to be a quarterback in the National Football League, but told media in the post-practice presser that he understands what the team is asking of him, and believes it is a perfect fit for the Saints.
“It makes sense. I’m good with it,” said Hill. “It’s the nature of the NFL. This isn’t necessarily what I want. It’s what’s best for the team, and I’m good with that.”
Head coach Dennis Allen kicked off the post-practice presser with an update on Winston’s injury. Allen said the quarterback’s injury is not worrisome, but that he will miss the preseason opener against the Texans in Houston on Saturday.
“Jameis kind of sprained his foot a little bit yesterday,” said Allen. “I don’t really think it’s going to be that big of a challenge. Certainly, we are going to get him back healthy before we put him back out here.”
Second-year quarterback Ian Book (Notre Dame), who started a game in a losing effort against the Miami Dolphins last season in the wake of Winston’s season-ending knee injury and Hill’s concussion, also spoke after practice, as did his fellow 2021 draft class teammate, cornerback Paulson Adebo.
The Saints travel to Green Bay next Friday (Aug. 19) for the team’s second preseason game of the season. The final preseason game will be held the following week in the Caesars Superdome against the Los Angeles Chargers (Aug. 26).
The Saints season opener will be in Atlanta against the Falcons on Sept. 11.