The New Orleans Saints will be short-handed in their preseason game against the New York Jets, with several players including tight end Jared Cook and running back Latavius Murray not suiting up. The full list of players not dressed for the Saints’ third preseason game:
- CB/PR Marcus Sherels
- DL Mario Edwards
- FB Michael Burton
- FS Saquan Hampton
- LB Alex Anzalone
- LB Craig Robertson
- OL Ethan Greenidge
- OL Marshall Newhouse
- RB Latavius Murray
- TE Jared Cook
Katherine Terrell of The Athletic reported that Cook was seen ending a route gimpy during the Saints practice on Thursday, finishing drills with only light work. So it appears the Saints are erring on the side of caution and holding him out of this exhibition game.
Murray has seen sporadic absences in practice throughout training camp, likely dealing with a few minor injuries. It makes sense to rest him if something has flared up again.
The Saints will be short-handed at two major positions: offensive tackle and linebacker. Starting left tackle Terron Armstead probably won’t play much out of an abundance of caution, but expect him to see most of the first-team reps. Behind him, the primary backups are either sitting out this game (Newhouse) or returning from their own injury scares (Michael Ola). The Saints lost a promising backup last week against the Los Angeles Chargers when newly-signed free agent Chris Clark went down after his lower legs were rolled up on by a falling teammate.
At linebacker, we won’t be seeing a starter (Anzalone) or a top backup (Robertson). That opens more opportunities for rookie draft pick Kaden Elliss — who has been running often with the first-team defense — and veteran free agent Josh Martin, who will get to play his former team tonight in New York.
