It’s time for a sneak peek at the upcoming season’s New Orleans Saints.
Tuesday marks the start of the Saints’ voluntary offseason training activities. OTAs will feature 10 days of work over the course of three weeks. The scheduled dates are May 23-25, May 30-June 1 and June 5-8.
New Orleans held rookie minicamp two weeks ago, but this will be the first time all members of the team are welcome to practice.
Media will be given access to one session per week.
Below are five areas The Times-Picayune crew will be keeping an eye on at the Saints’ headquarters out in Metairie.
Participation
Because OTAs are voluntary, this is a very general thing to look out for. Roll call, essentially.
The only veteran who has made it clear he will be in attendance is defensive end Cam Jordan. But he’s also the only veteran who has spoken to the media this month.
Also, just because a player is present doesn’t mean he is participating. Injuries are another thing to keep in mind here. For example: Running back Kendre Miller was at rookie minicamp two weeks ago, but he worked off to the side with a trainer rather than with his position group. The same could be the case for returning players.
Just to name a few: Linebacker D’Marco Jackson was placed on injured reserve before last season even started. Offensive lineman Trevor Penning injured his foot in the final game of last season. Wide receiver Michael Thomas dealt with a foot injury through most of last season and is already not expected to be a full participant during the summer.
They, along with others, could all be at the facility but not active.
Defensive line
Jordan is the only regular along the line from the 2022 season back for 2023. Who ends up lining up next to Jordan will definitely be something to note because there are plenty of options, both young or experienced, new or familiar. Only time will tell how the group meshes.
First, the faces no longer in New Orleans: defensive end Marcus Davenport (now with the Minnesota Vikings), defensive tackles Shy Tuttle (Carolina Panthers) and David Onyemata (Atlanta Falcons).
To fill those voids, the Saints signed defensive tackles Khalen Saunders and Nathan Shepherd through free agency. Saunders has been in the league since 2019, Shepherd since 2018.
Then, New Orleans drafted defensive tackle Bryan Bresee out of Clemson in the first round round and defensive end Isaiah Foskey from Notre Dame in the second round.
Can’t forget those who stuck around with Jordan, too. Defensive ends Tanoh Kpassagnon, Carl Granderson and Payton Turner are back, along with defensive tackle Malcom Roach. They all worked in rotating roles and combined for 12 starts last year — fewer than Jordan’s 16 alone.
Oh, and there’s also the minor detail that the defensive line has a new coach in Todd Grantham. Ryan Nielsen took a defensive coordinator promotion with the Falcons.
Quarterbacks
Even Derek Carr isn’t technically required to show up to OTAs. It would be more surprising, though, if he did not. He seemed very eager to get to work during his introductory news conference back in March, and two-plus months of waiting around probably didn’t simmer that fire.
Then there’s Jameis Winston back for Year 4 in New Orleans. He was supposed to be the Saints’ starter last year — that was the plan throughout the offseason, preseason and early on in the regular season — but injuries and production sidelined Winston for Andy Dalton, who is now with the Carolina Panthers. It’ll be interesting to see how Winston handles his already-set backup role, if he decides to participate.
And then there’s rookie Jake Haener, who the Saints drafted in the fourth round earlier this month. Haener put up 2,896 yards passing in his final season at Fresno State. He completed 72% of his passes and threw only three interceptions compared to his 20 touchdowns.
Carr may lead the group through workouts, but it’ll be interesting to see who follows in his footsteps.
New coaches
The Saints welcomed five new assistant coaches this offseason. They were present for the rookie minicamp two weeks ago, but this will be their first time working with any of the other players who make an appearance
The coaches are going to be evaluated just as much as the players throughout any offseason time together. Saints coach Dennis Allen even said so himself.
These are the newcomers: Grantham, defensive coordinator Joe Woods, secondary coach Marcus Robertson, tight ends coach Clancy Barone and assistant offensive line coach Kevin Carberry.
Woods and Robertson were briefly part of Allen’s 2014 Las Vegas Raiders staff. Allen did admit to emphasizing familiarity during the hiring process.
The five-coach addition signifies the Saints’ biggest staff overhaul since the 2016 season.
Foster Moreau
Allen said last week it is “absolutely” conceivable that tight end Foster Moreau participates in OTAs. If that is indeed the case and that does happen this week, then Moreau’s return to the football field will mark two months between his Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis and his recovery from cancer. The Saints’ medical staff would not have cleared him if there were any doubts.
Moreau joins a tight end group that lost rather than gained depth in the draft. Instead of picking up a tight end, the Saints traded Adam Trautman to the Denver Broncos in order to move up and select wide receiver A.T. Perry.
Otherwise, currently on the roster at the tight end position are Juwan Johnson, Taysom Hill, Lucas Krull and Miller Forristall. Johnson and Hill played in 16 of the 17 games last year. Krull appeared in one. Forristall signed a reserve/future deal this offseason.
Seeing Moreau, who spent the last four seasons alongside Carr, out there would be a positive for the Saints in more than one way.
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