Mrs. Benson catching up with coach at today's practice! #SaintsCamp pic.twitter.com/KLrNiDWefR
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) September 2, 2020
One scary situation has resolved itself for the New Orelans Saitns: the health of team owner Gayle Benson, who recently tested positive for COVID-19. On Wednesday, Benson visited a Saints training camp practice session after being cleared by doctors. She had been working from home while receiving daily medical care, but was likely pleased to get back to the team facility.
The Saints shared a photo on their official Twitter account of Benson meeting with (a socially-distanced) Sean Payton before practice, wearing a mask and looking eager to see her team compete. This also appears to be the first time in Saints training camp that they have been joined by NFL officials, giving players an opportunity to clean up their play and get used to hearing whistles from someone besides their coaches.
Payton also battled the coronavirus earlier this year, and has since used his platform to raise awareness of how people can stay safe and help others, like donating plasma. Just a few Saints players have been designated to the NFL’s COVID-19 reserve list during training camp (running back Dwayne Washington being the most recent), with most returning after a few days away from the team due to false positive test results. Hopefully the team can remain vigilant while preparing for the 2020 season.
