The big piece of news this morning at practice was the return of Jairus Byrd, who came off of the “PUP” list. Byrd underwent back surgery recently and was listed as “day to day”, but while the procedure was described as “minor” it’s always a bit unsettling to hear the words back and surgery together. Byrd was immediately thrust into his starting role with the 1s in walkthrough and dressed in full pads. That’s a very good sign if you’re a Saints fan and very welcome news. I anticipate the Saints will take it slow with him and give him days off given the procedure, but the fact that he’s healthy enough to practice and be back in the fold is quite encouraging. From all the reports so far he’s looked good.
The good news didn’t stop there as Robert Meachem was back at practice in pads, as was rookie tackle Tavon Rooks. Rooks was on the Active/Non-Football Injury list for the start of training camp and he joined Byrd to have his first practice this morning.
The only player left on an unable to perform list is now nose tackle John Jenkins who is on the PUP. He is expected to return very soon as well. Otherwise, the only guys sitting out are Ben Grubbs with an unspecified injury (not considered serious, listed as day to day) and Kenny Stills with a pulled quad.
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