NFL Week 8 Spotlight: Health Boost for Saints, Practice Insights Revealed

The Saints are trending in the right direction to get some major players back for the Chargers game.

John Hendrix | Oct 25, 2024

Oct 17, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. (11) scores a touchdown late in the fourth quarter against the Denver Broncos at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images / Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

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New Orleans Saints

The final Saints practice is in the books, and Friday's open session made available to the media didn't give us many changes from yesterday. New Orleans had the same absences, with Derek Carr (oblique), Cedrick Wilson Jr. (hip), Nick Saldiveri (shoulder) and Kendal Vickers all not spotted.

The Saints are trending in the right direction to have some major players back in the mix for Week 8's game against the Chargers. Cesar Ruiz (knee), Connor McGovern (back), Chris Olave (concussion) and Taysom Hill (rib) were all upgraded to full participants on Thursday, while we'll keep tabs on Pete Werner (hamstring). Cedrick Wilson Jr. was downgraded from limited to a non-participant. I've seen Saldiveri around, so that wouldn't be too concerning at this point.

We'll get the final injury report later on Friday with full game designations, but again, it's trending in the right direction for the Saints to at least be more competitive this weekend. Spencer Rattler will get the start for a third straight game, and the expectation is that Carr could be ready to go when they play the Panthers on the road in Week 9.

Published Oct 25, 2024

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