Why the Saints are sequestered in a New Orleans hotel and Drew Brees ended a bad habit
It has been a week since the New Orleans Saints reported to Camp COVID-20 and they have yet to touch a football.
By design.
Thus, I have nothing to report on the progress of draft picks, guard Cesar Ruiz, OLB Zack Baun, TE Adam Trautman and former Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens. Or key veteran free agents, — wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, safety Malcolm Jenkins and quarterback Jameis Winston.
In these pandemic times, no news is good news, right?
But I can report on:
▪ The club has rented out four floors of a hotel on the outskirts of the French Quarter to house upwards of 175 players and team employees during training camp. “It’s not a bubble,’‘ Coach Sean Payton explained. “It’s a sequester.’‘ Players are not required to stay at the Loews Hotel. It’s meant only to serve as a temporary housing option through the first week of September, complete with full-service 24/7 COVID-19 protocols to minimize health risks. Owner Gayle Marie Benson is footing the bill.
▪ With apologies to KFC, quarterback Drew Brees is no longer “finger lickin’ good.’‘ Let me explain. Brees said he has rid himself of an old habit and no longer plans to lick his fingers prior to getting a football and throwing it. With the help of wife Brittany, Brees has been lick free for four months and now practices the proper way of hand sanitizing amid the pandemic.
▪ The Saints may be on the road for their Week 2 game but it doesn’t appear the Las Vegas Raiders will have much of a home-field advantage. Season-ticket holders were informed this week that no fans will be allowed at home games this season, throwing cold water on the grand opening of the Raiders’ new $1.9 billion, 65,000-seat domed Allegiant Stadium just off the Las Vegas strip.
▪ Incidentally, Saints season-ticket holders are still awaiting news of how many, if any, fans will be allowed to attend games this season inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, including the season opener Sept. 13 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3:25 p.m.). Final word should come down in the next two weeks at the conclusion of an exhaustive feasibility study conducted by local and state health and political officials.
▪ In lieu of an in-person off-season program, Payton warned players to report in the best shape of their lives. He double-downed this week, saying “the amount of of running and lifting they’re going to do is going to be significant.’‘
▪ Players are scheduled to undergo conditioning drills and weight room work this week. OTA-style workouts in helmets and shorts can start Aug. 12 with the first of 14 permissible full-padded workouts scheduled five days later.
Payton is quick to remind that it is not his training camp schedule but the schedule laid out under the revised NFL/NFLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement and he plans to “follow it to a T.’‘
▪ The Saints roster currently stands at 80 after the signing of veteran free agents OLB Nigel Bradham and WR Bennie Fowler. According to Spotrac as of Tuesday, they are approximately $5.6 million under the league-mandated $198 million salary cap.
Brian Allee-Walsh, a longtime Saints reporter based in New Orleans, can be reached at sports@sunherald.com.