Well that’s not good. The New Orleans Saints ruled out starting defensive backs Marshon Lattimore and C.J. Gardner-Johnson for their Week 2 game with the Carolina Panthers. Lattimore chipped a bone in his hand last week and underwent surgery, and has a chance to play next week. Gardner-Johnson was limited in practice throughout the week with a knee injury.
Additionally, the Saints will be without defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon, who is managing a calf injury. That opens more snaps in the rotation for rookie draft pick Payton Turner to make a splash after Marcus Davenport was sent to injured reserve for a few weeks.
And it’ll be interesting to see how the Saints approach the situation at center with Erik McCoy out due to a calf strain; recently-signed free agent Austin Reiter was called up from the practice squad, and he’s active, though Cesar Ruiz did well on short notice in Week 1. The full inactive lists from both teams:
