Top Insights From Dennis Allen's New Orleans Saints Pre-Training Camp Presser

New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen touched on several key elements of Saints training camp in his first presser before trianing camp kicks off.

New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen addresses the media before training camp begins. / New Orleans Saints Livestream

With training camp practices beginning on Wednesday, New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen addressed media in Irvine, Calif. As he spoke, he touched on several key elements of Saints training camp including expectations around running back Alvin Kamara's involvement as he navigates a contract dispute with the team, newly-acquired defensive end Chase Young who is recovering from an offseason neck procedure and spoke on the team not having Southern California-based fans in attendance during their practice.

Here are some of the can't-miss quotes and insights from Allen's presser to open camp:

On Alvin Kamara's expected participation: "I expect Alvin to be out (on the field)," Allen said quickly when asked about the star running back. "He was out here today. He ran the conditioning test. Every indication that we've gotten is that he'll be out here practicing tomorrow." That is good news for the team that is bringing in an offense that Kamara should excel in. The team and Kamara have been having contract talks (which Allen declined to comment in detail on) this offseason and there was some reasonable belief that he may have held in while those conversations continued. However now it sounds like the team very much expects Kamara to be a part of practice day one.

Allen added that the team does not expect Kamara to sit out of major portions of practices at this time.

On Chase Young's progress: Things look to be trending in the right direction for Young as he recovers from his offseason neck procedure. "Chase Young will participate in some form of practice tomorrow," he said. Excellent news for the Saints and the biggest free agency addition in terms of name recognition. Allen gave a similar update on wide receiver Chris Olave, who was placed on the Non-Football Injury list last well. He announced that he would be participating on Wednesday, though they may limit him in an effort to be cautious around his back injury.

On players that will be out to start camp: With a few players on injury lists for the team, Allen highlighted who, aside from Young will end up missing at least the open of training camp practices. "We have three players," Allen said. "Tanoh (Kpassagnon), Nephi (Sewell) and Juwan Johnson. Those three players will not be practicing tomorrow." He would go on to confirm that he expects everyone else to have some form of presence and participation on Wednesday's opening day of camp.

On the offensive line: A new-look starting five will grace the field on the Saints' offensive line in 2024. Allen is excited by the young talent they have added to the team that will be look at to step up this year. "Obviously we've got a couple of incumbent guys in Erik McCoy and Cesar Ruiz," he said. "But I think that after that, there's a lot of jobs that are up for grabs." While the head coach does not feel that he can say who the starting five linemen will be Week 1, he does expect things to sort out clearly over the course of camp.

On relocating practice: The Saints moved practices from their team facilities in Metairie, Lou. this year due to renovations. Practice will now take place on campus at the University of California, Irvine. Allen spoke on both leaving their familiar facilities behind and the benefits of practicing in an environment that keeps the team close to one another. "Obviously being away from home and away from our fans in New Orleans," he said. "Obviously that's the tough part about being out here in California for this training camp." Among the reasons he listed included weather, the provided facilities, the team hotel. But it was about much more than just the digs.

"I'm excited about waht we can accomplish," he said. "I think when you get into this type of environment, one of the things I think it allows you to do is that it allows you to push the guys (players) harder for longer. There's nothing easy about training camp." Allen also noted the diminishing returns that come from practicing in the harsh summer weather of the New Orleans area, which can potentially limit how much a team can go all out during training camp.

On fans not being present at practices in Irvine: With the relocation of camp, the Saints will not be opening up the practices to fans local to the area. A move that has drawn much criticism. While Allen is not the shot-caller for that kind of decision, he did still speak on the unfortunate circumstance. "I always enjoy having fans at practice," he said. "That's another change-up that I think envigorates our players. But that's one of the unique thing sabout being out here in Southern California. I think the league came out and said something about having to close these practices and in another market too. So that plays a factor in it."

Such a notion was discussed at an earlier press conference with team president Dennis Lauscha. He had expressed at the time that he was not aware of such an issue wherein the NFL would have rules about fans of out-of-market teams being in attendance at training camps that are happening in competing areas. However, recent reports reveal that the Saints and Las Vegas Raiders are indeed both being held to the league's undeniably needless limitation.