Saints LT Armstead to miss multiple games with elbow injury

After exiting Sunday’s win at New England, New Orleans left tackle Terron Armstead is expected to miss multiple games with an elbow injury.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Monday the Pro Bowl talent will miss “several weeks.”

#Saints Pro Bowl LT Terron Armstead, ruled out yesterday with an elbow injury, is expected to miss several weeks based on the initial tests, sources say. This is good news. The ailment is not believed to be season-ending, barring a surprise from later exams.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 27, 2021

Armstead left the game in the first half after running back Tony Jones, Jr. hit him while assisting in pass blocking.

Swing tackle James Hurst, who stepped into the void left by Armstead in Foxboro, will replace Armstead.

The Saints have already played the past two games without starting center Erik McCoy, who suffered a calf injury in the season opener. The third-year pro did not practice last week but the team has not placed him on injured reserve (requiring a mandatory three-game absence), suggesting there is hope McCoy can return for this Sunday’s home game against the New York Giants.

New Orleans Saints Wide Receiver Marquez Callaway

Virtual Media Availability

Monday, September 27, 2021

Can you talk about the excitement of the team returning to New Orleans after the game on Sunday?

“I couldn’t wait to get home. I know a lot of guys couldn’t wait. I couldn’t wait. I think we’re more happy about going home after the win. The win was the first thing on our mind. As soon as we got to the locker room, you could hear chanting going into the locker room of ‘We’re going home. We’re going home.’ Everybody’s happy to get home. I’m happy to have slept in my bed finally and just happy to be here.”

You guys have won two out of three playing pretty good team football, but are you excited for the possibility of things opening up offensively a little bit more?

“Yes, being a receiver, we always want the ball thrown and want the ball every play, but in this league you have to run to win and coach (Payton) says all the time we have great backs and you know once the run gets going then the passing will open up. We do what we can blocking, doing everything to make the run happen. Once that happens, the passing game will start opening up and that will be beneficial to us.”

Can you take us back to you touchdown yesterday, what coverage they were playing, what you were seeing, how it feels to get it out of the way?

“It’s great finally getting it out of the way. It’s a blessing. I never thought it would come or it would come sooner, but everything happens in time. Really it’s a kill play that Jameis (Winston) killed and I had kind of like a post trying to cross his (defender’s) face and he grabbed me and I didn’t know it was a flag Jameis said he didn’t know it was a flag, so we just kept playing and that’s what happened. I didn’t know Jameis was throwing it out, I thought he was just throwing up for me to have a chance. I guess it worked out for bost of us.”

 

On that play, how would you preface that, where Jameis said he wasn’t even trying to throw it to you. Was that just luck, good opportunity or a little bit of preparation sprinkled into that too?

“People say it’s luck. I say it’s a little bit of both. Him throwing it out, if he was throwing it out, I’m pretty sure he would have thrown it out. I know he’s going through a lot of pressure and everything and he’s just trying to get into the back of end zone and it’s out. Being a ballplayer, just trying to catch the ball, we are taught to catch every ball we are thrown, not knowing if it was going out, thinking it was a jump ball. I’m thinking it’s a jump ball and kind of me in the middle.”

Were those kind of your basketball skills, going up for a rebound there. I thought that you kind of trailed back a little bit and boxed out a little bit to get it?

“One of my coaches sent me a message after the game that I was channeling my inner basketball (laughter). That’s exactly what it was. I guess you could say that.”

How do you feel like you are settling down now that this regular routine, getting out there and receiving a little more action as the number one guy at the moment?

“I think it’s good coming in getting a few games under your belt. At the beginning of the season. It’s a long offseason, everybody’s ready to play. You see a lot of things that you were not prepared for, because the first game, it’s a new quarterback. Everybody’s trying to get acclimated even though the offseason, the first game should be the first test. Going from the first game to the second you watch film and learn from it. Going from the second to the third game going to another hostile environment, you never forget the feeling of winning. That’s what we cherish. That’s the 24-hour thing, a lot of people don’t like it, but win or lose you have 24 hours to take it in, enjoy it (win). Today you get a good lift in and watch the film and prepare for New York.”

Are there some unusual challenges this week in terms of taking stock of your property for the first time since the storm and getting ready for an important game?

“We’ve all been through adversity. I don’t think this will be any different. We’ve been away for so long, because Coach (Payton) wanted us when we came back home not having to worry about anything. Obviously the worries are still there. It’s just less. We don’t have to worry as much as if we came back earlier. Coach and them have done a good job in that aspect. So now we have two off days and will get as much done these days we have off, whether to our family, our apartment or house and then by the time Wednesday comes around, we get ready to play.”

New Orleans Saints Linebacker Demario Davis

Video Call with New Orleans Media

Monday, September 27, 2021

Welcome home, what was it like after the game last night when y’all are chanting, “We’re going home.” And actually getting you know to sleep in your own bed after a month?

“Yeah, it’s crazy it’s been a month that we’ve been gone from home. That’s a lot of time to spend away from your family, spouses and kids and just not being in your normal routine, especially early in the season and so definitely glad that that’s in the past. It was just good to be back home, seeing the wife, seeing the kids, sleeping in your own bed, even coming into the facility. The facility even feels weird because we haven’t been here in a while and so just looking to get back to some normalcy.”

How much do you think you’ll have an extra special home field advantage, being overdue being back in (the Caesars Superdome), combined with the way your defense is playing right now?

“Oh man, I can’t wait for that. It’s going to be electric in that place, for sure. Just understanding that we went through an entire season, where we weren’t really able to be at full capacity and have our fans in the stadium and having them behind us and then you know having that anticipation and then our game being moved. I just know what this thing means the city and the fan base. It’s going to be crazy in that building. I can’t wait for it.”

 

Your wife (Tamela) went home before you, but what is your house looking like? You get today sort of off and tomorrow sort of off. So what are you doing in these next couple of days to get everything ready, situated at home when you haven’t been there for a month, so you can focus on the game week ahead of you?

“Yes, it’s been fortunate. A, we were fortunate, I didn’t have a lot of damage, so it wasn’t too much. And my wife got a chance to go (back). She’s been phenomenal. Her family has been just kind of been helping her get everything (in order). So I was able to come home to a house pretty much at peace and not a lot needs to be done. But that little bit that we’ll still have to do, I’ll be able to help with that. And it really is getting a lot of time with my kids is what I’m excited about. Because even though they were there with me, we were kind of in a hotel, they were (no) able to move around as much as we would have liked. We have those down days that I really try to get a lot of time with my kids because the season is so demanding. And so even if it’s just taking them to their extracurricular activity, my daughter has dance class, and I’m excited to take her to that. And then they see daddy daughter dates afterwards, we’re taking them to a fast food restaurant, they enjoy that time. We just sit in a car and eat ice cream and talk. So I look forward to those times. And then that and I think the biggest part for me is for us also to kind of assess everybody’s not as fortunate in our building with the staff from the top to the bottom and all the workers and important people behind the scenes that make this type of thing go, but make sure that they have all the support they need and kind of try to be there for them. And then extend out to the city understanding what outreach is happening in different locations and try to get in on that. And so this is a collective effort. It’s always just trying to remember that it’s not just about what’s going on with you individually, whether that is good or bad. It is about the people around you. Because you know, the harmony of the collective and so everyone needs to be in a good place. But they all need to exist in the best possible manor.”

Pete Werner was back this week after missing a game. How did you feel that he did, stepping up and starting and playing a considerable amount of snaps yesterday?

“I thought he played phenomenal. He made a lot of good plays in the packages that he was used in, showed his athleticism, showed his physicality, showed his understanding of the defense. When your number is called, you’ve got to be ready. And he showed up I felt like as good as a rookie can do in this game. And just understand you don’t put too much on their plate. But they’re able to go out to show their skill set, play fast, and show why they were brought in and he did that. And not just him. The entire linebacker group just played well. Andrew Dowell had a big block, Kaden Elliss stepped in in some packages and applied pressure on the quarterback, made some big plays. Zack (Baun) did his thing and we take a lot of pride in that, being the energy of the defense or the team really. That’s what you’ll hear. We’re always saying “Juice Boys” and doing this, that’s what that is. We’re the juice of the team and you’re the juice by making plays. That’s where the energy and excitement comes for. There’s no energy and excitement when you’re not making plays. And so I was definitely proud to be a part of a group playing at that high of a level.”

Where did “Juice Boyzz” come from? Cam (Jordan) said that you came up with it, but he had no idea why you called it that?

“So we take a lot of pride in our LB room. That’s where it originated. And just being the energy of the team and so we feel like we need to bring the energy every day no matter if it’s practice, a walkthrough, game, we’re responsible for the energy. And it comes from the cliché saying, ‘Y’all bring the ice and the cups, we’ll bring the juice.’ And that is really what we’re saying, we’re going to bring the energy and excitement. Nobody else. All y’all have to do is show up and we’ll take care of the rest. And that’s what we do, we want to bring the energy and excitement and that’s contagious. And it just bled over into the entire team. And so it started with just the linebackers saying ‘Juice Boyzz’ and then the DBs and then the D-line started with the DBs and then the offensive guys started saying it. If you see a big play, get your cup up, that’s the juice. Imagine having a cup in your hand and swirling the juice around.”

When did you like think of that? Like, I don’t know, like our brains work in very different ways, obviously. And one thing leads to another, but how did your brain set on that?

“That was a collective effort. I think it was me, Kwon (Alexander) and Wynn (Wynton McManis) and we were talking about it because we know we wanted to say something with juice because we were like we bring the juice every day. Let’s bring the juice, we just kept saying it and so we were like, ‘Okay, we’ve got to come up with something.’ And it was like should it be ‘Juice Squad’ or ‘Juice Boyzz’. Like we were just kind of like, no ‘Juice Squad’ doesn’t sound right. And it was like, Juice Boyzz with two Z’s. And it just stuck and just kind of took off from there. It was just like a random conversation. We were talking and we wanted to take juice and we wanted to kind of brand it so we can have an identity. And it just kind of took on a life of his own. Now ‘Juice Boyzz’ is a real thing were talking about in the interviews now. ‘Juice Boyzz’ is a real thing.”

I mean hey, I wanted to talk about it, but you brought it up on your own.

“Yeah, we’re working. We’re going to get t shirts, we’re going to get a lot of stuff. Jerseys, all kinds of stuff. We’re going to make it a thing so that everybody can participate. When our hands go up like this on the field (the fans) can do the same.”