Sean Payton: "We haven’t heard anything relative to the opener (w/Green Bay). Obviously, we’ll have a Plan B. A lot of things from a priority standpoint are more important for our city. We fully anticipate starting the season with Green Bay & the question is where will it be at."
— Jeff Duncan (@JeffDuncan_) August 30, 2021
The New Orleans Saints believe they will still start the season on Sept. 12 against the Green Bay Packers, but the location of the Week 1 showdown is still to be determined.
Saints coach Sean Payton said he hasn’t heard anything from the NFL regarding the impact of Hurricane Ida on Week 1, but the team still isn’t sure if New Orleans and the Superdome will be in a position to host a football game in 13 days, per Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune.
Much of New Orleans is currently without power after Hurricane Ida battered the city with high winds on Sunday.
Payton did say he does not anticipate the game being moved to Green Bay. A neutral field, possibly even in Dallas, could make sense if playing the game in New Orleans isn’t possible. The Cowboys open the season on the road in Tampa Bay, leaving AT&T Stadium open if needed.
The Saints canceled Saturday’s preseason home game against the Cardinals and evacuated the area ahead of the storm. The team has been operating out of Dallas since Saturday, and there’s no timeline for returning home yet. Payton and the Saints will have to go through final roster cutdowns to start this week while away from New Orleans.
