Saints Face Interesting Week Ahead

Potential players returning, the division and playoff picture, as well as the flow to Week 7 highlight things to look forward to for the Saints.

John Hendrix | Oct 18, 2021

We didn't have Saints football during Week 6, as the team enjoyed a week of rest before they have to tackle the remaining 12 games on their schedule. New Orleans has a date with the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football for Week 7 up next, followed by a two-game home stand against the Bucs and Falcons. Here's a few things to know about this week.

Saints WR Tre'Quan Smith vs. Detriot Lions — Tre'Quan Smith is one of many players who could return this week / New Orleans Saints receiver Tre'Quan Smith catches a touchdown against Detroit cornerback Desmond Trufant. © Junfu Han via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Player Monitor

There's a lot of players who could return this week from injury, but two of the ones to immediately monitor are Taysom Hill (concussion) and Deonte Harris (hamstring). Both got hurt during the game against Washington and did not return. Here's players we're keeping an eye on potentially returning this week, with some more likely to come back than others.

Terron Armstead (elbow)
Michael Thomas (ankle)
Erik McCoy (calf)
Tre'Quan Smith (hamstring)
Ken Crawley (hamstring)
Nick Vannett (knee)
Kwon Alexander (elbow)
Marcus Davenport (pectoral)

David Onyemata (suspension) cannot return until after the game against the Seahawks, and Tony Jones Jr. (ankle) has to miss at least three weeks after being placed on injured reserve on Oct. 6. New Orleans added kicker Brian Johnson off the Bears practice squad, and will be on the team for at least three games as we wait for the return of Wil Lutz (core muscle).

Weekly Flow and Info

Since the game is on a Monday, we won't get our first glimpse of practice until Thursday, which will also be when the initial injury report drops. The team will likely travel out on Saturday evening or Sunday morning. Tickets are going for as low as $69 on Ticketmaster and $70 on SeatGeek if you're planning on attending. New Orleans opened as 3.5-point favorites in the early odds, but it has moved to 4.5 on most odds.

Around the NFC South

The Saints are currently second in the division behind the Bucs (5-1), as the Panthers (3-3) lost a third straight game and the Falcons (2-3) were also on their bye week. Things will heat up down the stretch for New Orleans, and if the playoffs were to start today, they'd hold the 6th spot in the NFC and would be on the road to play the Packers. Of course, we have a ton of football left this season, and things can change just like that.

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Published Oct 18, 2021

JOHN HENDRIX

I officially started covering the New Orleans Saints & other NFL topics in 2011. My work has been featured on various outlets over the years. I worked closely with Skyhorse Publishing in Fall 2018 to update the book, Tales From the New Orleans Saints Sidelines, which filled in all Saints material from the 2013-2017 seasons. Prior to joining Saints News Network, I served as the Managing Editor of SB Nation's Canal Street Chronicles for 3.5 years, and before that with FanSided's Who Dat Dish as the Managing Editor for several years. I have also had experiences of being a freelance Saints reporter for The Sun Herald in Biloxi, MS and a contributing writer for WDSU, a local NBC TV station in New Orleans. I have appeared on a vast amount of TV and Radio shows, both nationally and locally. For tips, comments, or suggestions, please contact me at johnhendrix@saintsnews.net