Thomas out, Winston limited as Saints return to Dome for practice

NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Saints are back home.

They practiced in the Caesars Superdome on Sunday afternoon, their first workout at home in 10 days.

Approximately 30,000 fans attended the two-hour practice, which also served as a dry run for the preseason finale against the Los Angeles Chargers in the same building Friday night.

“It was nice to be back in the Dome,” head coach Dennis Allen said afterward. “It was nice to have the fans here. It was a good atmosphere. We got in a lot of good work.

“As a football team we’re not there yet. We’ve got a lot of getting better to do, but I like the progress.”

Wide receiver Michael Thomas was one of a half dozen or so players that did not participate because of a variety of medical issues, none of which appear to be serious.

Allen said Thomas is dealing with “a little bit of a hamstring issue.”

The former All-Pro had multiple hamstring issues back in 2020 along with the ankle injury that cost him much of that season and all of last year following offseason surgery.

Quarterback Jameis Winston, who has been sidelined by a minor foot injury, took part in seven-on-seven drills, but didn’t participate in 11-on-11 as Andy Dalton and Ian Book split those reps.

Allen said Winston’s work was “part of the natural progression” and that he expects the quarterback to return to team work this week and then “we’ll see where he’s at.”

After back-to-back trips to Houston and Green Bay, the Saints will be home for nearly three weeks to complete preparation for the September 11 season opener at Atlanta.

For the record, they lost their first two preseason games – 17-13 to the Texans on August 13 and 20-10 to the Packers last Friday.

In between the two games was probably the most important out-of-town work – two days of practice against the Packers, which didn’t feature final scores to potentially skew the perception of the work.

As for the games, they both featured too many turnovers by the Saints, who compounded their self-inflicted problems with nine penalties against the Packers alone.

In two games the Saints have turned the ball over five times and they have been penalized 15 times for 132 yards.

Four of the turnovers (two interceptions and two fumbles) were committed by Ian Book, who’s realistically the fourth quarterback on the roster because in a pinch Taysom Hill likely would move from tight end to play quarterback. At this point it seems more likely that Book won’t be on the roster than he will be.

The Saints haven’t scored nearly enough points in the first two games, but the offense’s lineup bears little resemblance to the one the Falcons and others will face. Jameis Winston hasn’t played, nor have Alvin Kamara, Michael Thomas or Mark Ingram II, among others.

Book has played every snap except for the opening series against the Texans, in which No. 2 Andy Dalton guided a nearly flawless touchdown drive.

The only turnover committed by someone other than Book was the fumble by Abram Smith that essentially turned the game at Houston from a victory into a defeat. Even if Smith makes the team, he figures to be no higher than fourth on the depth chart at running back.

Similarly, the penalties have been committed mostly by players who either will fail to make the final roster or will be backups.

Tight ends Adam Trautman and Nick Vannett and defensive tackle Malcolm Roach are the most prominent players that have committed penalties. Trautman and Vannett figure to be in the tight end rotation along with Hill.

Roach, a backup defensive tackle last season who’s battling to keep that spot, committed by far the most damaging penalty in the two games. His roughing-the-passer penalty against Jordan Love turned what would have been a fourth-and-19 at the Packers 11 into a first down at the 26, extending what became an 80-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter.

The other penalties were committed by offensive lineman Josh Andrews (two), defensive back Vincent Gray (two), wide receivers Kevin White, Kirk Merritt and Dai’Jean Dixon, tight end Lucas Krull, defensive back DaMarcus Fields and offensive linemen Nick Martin, Lewis Kidd and Ethan Greenidge. None of those players figure to be contributors and few if any will even make the team.

As for the defense, it has mostly played well, especially when the players most likely to be contributors have been on the field and even in the absence of numerous starters that have rested with nothing to prove in the preseason.

The Saints did allow 178 rushing yards and a 5.2 average per rush against the Packers, but a group of backups allowed former LSU quarterback Danny Etling to break free for a 51-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter.

Aside from that one play, the Saints allowed 127 yards and an average of 3.8 yards per rush.

The defense has taken the ball away four times in two games.

NFL teams have to trim their rosters from 85 players to 80 on Tuesday and training camps officially end August 28. Two days after that, teams must reduce their rosters to the regular-season limit of 53.

But with 12 days from the final cut-down until the season opener, it’s likely that teams will tweak their rosters after evaluating players released throughout the league on the final cut.