New Orleans Saints

John Ridgeway III

DT

Ridgeway was dealing with a back issue earlier in camp and missed most of last season with a shoulder injury. The 27-year-old defensive lineman inked a new two-year pact with New Orleans during the offseason and is expected to be a key member of the Saints' rotation up front this season.

Bryce Lance

WR

With Jordyn Tyson (hamstring) out several weeks and Devaughn Vele receiving a rest day Tuesday, the rookie Lance worked opposite Chris Olave as the Saints' WR2. While Vele is the favorite to open the regular season as the second wideout, Lance has a pretty clear path to early-season playing time while Tyson is sidelined. At 6-foot-3 and 204 pounds with 4.34 speed, Lance is a size-speed prospect who produced back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons at North Dakota State before being selected in the fourth round of the 2026 Draft by New Orleans.

Audric Estime

RB

While Estime has avoided a serious injury, he's going to be down for a little bit, per Jackson. It's a bad break for Estime, who is trying to win a job in the Saints' backfield that just lost Alvin Kamara (knee) to a sprained MCL. Estime is competing with the likes of Kendre Miller and Devin Neal behind Travis Etienne. Across seven regular-season appearances last season, Estime rushed 46 times for 198 yards and one touchdown.

Kendre Miller

RB

With Audric Estime (ankle) also banged up, Miller and Neal might even end up competing for the No. 2 RB job in Week 1. Such a scenario would be favorable for Travis Etienne's workload projection, as opposed to losing a chunk of the targets (and some carries) to a healthy Kamara. Before all the injuries, Miller was positioned to compete with Neal and Estime for the No. 3 RB job.

Devin Neal

RB

Apart from starter Travis Etienne, the Saints have had trouble keeping their running backs healthy this summer. Neal and Miller seemed to be competing with Audric Estime (ankle) for the No. 3 job, but the Week 1 depth chart beyond Etienne may be determined by health above all else. Right now, Miller and Neal are positioned to mix in for some first-team reps.

Travis Etienne Jr.

RB

Per Adam Schefter of ESPN, Kamara is expected to be sidelined for at least a month due to the knee injury, putting his availability for the Sept. 13 season opener in Detroit in jeopardy. The Saints had been listing Etienne and Kamara as co-starters on their unofficial depth chart, though Etienne always looked like the better bet to handle the brunt of the snaps on early downs after joining New Orleans on a four-year, $52 million deal in the offseason. With Kamara potentially set to miss time to begin the season or likely to be limited even if he's cleared for Week 1, Etienne could also be in store for an expanded role on passing downs until Kamara is closer to 100 percent health. The Kamara injury may also clear the way for a reserve running back such as Audric Estime (ankle), Devin Neal (hamstring) or Kendre Miller (back) to carve out a role behind Etienne, though those three players have also been banged up during training camp.

Alvin Kamara

RB

The injury puts Kamara's availability in jeopardy for the Saints' Week 1 game in Detroit on Sept. 13 and may also make him a candidate to open the season on injured reserve, which would keep him out for at least New Orleans' first four contests. The Saints will likely wait and see how Kamara progresses in his recovery over the next few weeks before a clearer target for his return to practice and eventually game action comes into focus. In the event that Kamara is out to begin the season, free-agent pickup Travis Etienne would likely take on a larger share of the rushing and pass-catching volume out of the backfield, while backups such as Devin Neal (hamstring), Kendre Miller (back) or Audric Estime (ankle) could also be sprinkled into the game plan a bit more.

Jordyn Tyson

WR

doubtful

Pete Werner

LB

questionable

Dillon Radunz

G

ir

Brock Rechsteiner

WR

reserve-sus

Quincy Riley

CB

questionable

Chris Rumph II

DE

questionable

Cameron Jordan

DE

questionable

Bryan Bresee

DT

ir

Chris Olave

WR

Prior to his exit, Olave had been cooking Dallas' secondary on a consistent basis. He left the practice field with Saints trainers after falling to the turf making a grab down the left sideline. It's unclear if he's dealing with any sort of injury, though, as Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com reported that Olave quickly returned to the field and was waiting for the session to resume.

Devaughn Vele

WR

The reason for Vele's absence is unclear, but the wideout already had a rest day recently. With Jordyn Tyson (hamstring) expected to miss substantial time to begin the season, Vele, Bryce Lance (undisclosed) and Barion Brown are candidates to see added work behind Chris Olave for however long the 2026 first-round pick is sidelined.

Juwan Johnson

TE

Johnson is coming off a breakout season in which he easily set career bests with 77 receptions and 889 yards, so it's little surprise that he remains the top tight end for the Saints. Now trailing him on the depth chart are offseason acquisition Noah Fant and rookie third-rounder Oscar Delp.

Jeremiah Wright

G

Wright was dealing with a shoulder injury at practice leading up to the contest, but he was ultimately able to give it a go. The 24-year-old was on the field for 68 percent of the team's offensive snaps in the game, and he appears to be on track to operate as a top reserve at offensive guard with New Orleans this season.

Barion Brown

WR

Brown tied for the Saints lead in receptions and finished second on the team in receiving yards behind Bub Means (77 yards). The highlight of Brown's performance was a 28-yard connection down the sideline with Zach Wilson late in the second quarter to help set up a field goal. Brown was taken by New Orleans in the sixth round of April's NFL Draft and had a chance to vie for a significant role among a Saints WR corps that lacks experience behind No. 1 option Chris Olave. New Orleans drafted both Jordyn Tyson (first round) and Bryce Lance (fourth round) ahead of Brown in the draft, but Tyson is looking iffy for Week 1 of the regular season due to a hamstring injury.

Oscar Delp

TE

Delp's touchdown came on a pass from Zach Wilson on a play from the 1-yard line. It wasn't all roses for the rookie tight end, however, as he also had multiple drops. Delp is looking to cement a spot as the Saints' No. 3 tight end behind Juwan Johnson and Noah Fant, and his TD should help his case despite the uneven performance.

Spencer Rattler

QB

Rattler's completion percentage was fine, but he averaged only 3.8 yards per attempt, and his longest completion went for just nine yards. He also was sacked twice, with one sack resulting in a lost fumble, and all of his completions came on his final drive of the game during the second quarter. Tyler Shough, who is projected to start behind center for New Orleans this season, didn't play, and Zach Wilson had arguably the most impressive QB performance for the Saints on Saturday by completing 11 of 16 pass attempts for 145 yards and a touchdown. Per Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.Football, New Orleans is expected to play mostly backups again next Saturday versus the Rams in the team's second preseason contest, so Rattler may have another chance to start and potentially make a positive impression.

Tyler Shough

QB

Shough, who is slated to be New Orleans' starting QB this season, was among a number of the team's projected starters who didn't suit up. Spencer Rattler, Hunter Dekkers and Zach Wilson all got a chance to lead the team's offense Saturday, and Wilson was arguably the most impressive by completing 11 of 16 pass attempts for 145 yards and the Saints' only passing touchdown. According to Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.Football, the Saints are expected to again play mostly backups next Saturday in their second preseason contest against the Rams, so Shough may not suit up then either. However, Shough should still get meaningful reps since the Saints have joint practices against both the Cowboys and Rams next week.

Christen Miller

DT

Miller had been dealing with a toe issue, but he's presumably past that problem given his ability to suit up Saturday. However, the rookie defensive tackle headed to the locker room during the contest and was evaluated for a shoulder injury. Miller is expected to have a key rotational role on the defensive line if healthy after New Orleans selected him in the second round of April's NFL Draft.

Julian Blackmon

S

Blackmon exited Saturday's practice session early due to a knee issue but is already back in action for Sunday's session. The safety underwent further testing, with the determination evidently being that the issue was minor. The free safety's health means he can continue to compete with Jonas Sanker for the starting job.