Saints taking first steps in preparation for 2022 season

METAIRIE – The New Orleans Saints completed their first week of Organized Team Activities on Thursday.

These are the first baby steps in the Saints’ preparation for the 2022 season.

The voluntary OTAs are conducted in three-practices-per-week increments over three weeks before the team holds a mandatory mini-camp June 14-16, then breaks until the start of training camp in late July.

This particular series of OTAs is distinctive for a few reasons:

It’s the first traditional off-season program for the Saints in three years. The 2020 program was essentially held remotely because of COVID-19 and last year former coach Sean Payton chose to have the players work out on their own.

This is also the first OTA program since former defensive coordinator Dennis Allen succeeded Payton.

It’s also notable because quarterback Jameis Winston is back on the practice field for the first time since undergoing major knee surgery in November, former All-Pro wide receiver Michael Thomas, though he isn’t on the field, is back in the building and nearing a return to the field and former LSU star defensive back Tyrann Mathieu is beginning the next stage of his career in his hometown.

Allen, who’s attempting a seamless transition from Payton after seven seasons as his defensive coordinator, put the program in perspective after practice Thursday.

“I think OTAs are important, but I also know that we have a long way to go before we play our first regular-season game (on September 11) and that’s where our focus is – getting our guys ready to do that,” Allen said. “So I wouldn’t diminish the importance of these and yet it’s probably a little different than with some other new coaches in that the defensive scheme’s not really changing, the offensive scheme’s not really changing, and neither is the special teams scheme. So that’s in place, which gives us a little bit of a leg up.”

These OTAs, like most OTAs, are designed primarily to remind returning players and educate newcomers on the details that will prepare them to practice efficiently when training camp begins.

“We want to get a base understanding of what we’re doing offensively, defensively and in the kicking game,” Allen said. “It’s a little bit of an initial evaluation. We want to know what the fundamentals and techniques are that we’re going to utilize to do this.

“And really more so than anything else is just build some team chemistry by getting out here and practicing football.”

Winston isn’t quite seven months removed from surgery, but appears to be ahead of schedule.

“He’s still got a ways to go to get him ready, but we like where he’s at,” Allen said. “We’re going to continue to push to get him better and yet try to be smart about it.”

Winston is wearing a “mandatory” brace on his left knee and he’s not allowed yet to roll out or scramble.

“I’m happy that I can take full-speed reps in passing,” Winston said. “I’m still progressing into running. I want to be ready right now, but I’m embracing this process and finding something to get better at every single day.

“Every part matters. The rehab matters. The progress of getting back to full speed matters. The reps with the young guys, the reps with anybody I possibly can get a rep with, it matters.”

Winston is most eager to have reps with Thomas, who set an NFL record with 149 catches in 2019, then suffered a serious ankle injury in the 2020 opener that limited him to seven games.

Thomas waited until last June to have surgery on the ankle, meaning he would miss the first half of the 2021 season, then suffered a set-back that required a second procedure that sidelined him for the rest of last season.

“He and I see eye to eye right now because we’re both embracing this process,” Winston said. “We have time. The season isn’t next week. (We’re) cherishing these opportunities where we get to grow mentally. I was so excited to see that Mike was in the building being around the team.”

Thomas’ presence in the building is a positive sign regarding his relationship with the organization. As the 2021 training camp was beginning Payton showed his dissatisfaction with Thomas’ decision to have belated surgery. Reportedly the Saints had tried unsuccessfully several times to reach Thomas during the offseason.

So his presence even though he is not yet practicing suggests the relationship between him and the organization has improved.

“I think he’s doing well in his rehab,” Allen said of Thomas. “He’s not ready yet. He’s here, he’s rehabbing, he’s getting himself better.”

Mathieu said he chose to participate because he’s entering “a new situation with new teammates, a new system, a different language.”

But there was more to it than that.

“I always love being on the football field,” he said. “I love being around my teammates. It’s good to get these three or four weeks under my belt to get ready for training camp.”

Allen said that the first thing Mathieu said after agreeing to a contract last month was “Yeah, I’m going to be there (at OTAs).”

“I’m seeing a guy that comes to work every day as a pro,” Allen said of Mathieu. “That’s what I like about him. That’s what I thought coming in.”

Thomas isn’t the only player rehabbing during OTAs. Others are Marcus Maye, another free agent signee who is expected to start alongside Mathieu at safety, and defensive ends Marcus Davenport and Payton Turner.

Players who apparently have chosen to skip the workouts are running backs Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram II, wide receivers Jarvis Landry and Deonte Harty, quarterback Taysom Hill, tight end Adam Trautman, linebacker Demario Davis and defensive backs Marshon Lattimore, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Bradley Roby and P.J. Williams.

“I’ve had communication with everybody on our team so I’m well aware of who is and who isn’t here,” Allen said. “It’s a voluntary program. Would I like everybody to be here? Yeah, I’d like everybody to be here, but everybody has their reason why and I’m comfortable with where we’re at.”