Saints tackles Trevor Penning, James Hurst exit practice with injuries
This is worth monitoring. The New Orleans Saints depth chart took a hit on Wednesday with both their starting left tackle (James Hurst) and his backup (Trevor Penning, a rookie first round draft pick) leaving practice early with apparent injuries. Both players left under their own power, and Penning later jogged back onto the field, so it looks like he avoided any serious injury. We’re still waiting for word on Hurst.
Still, it made a dicey situation worse. The Saints were already resting All-Pro right tackle Ryan Ramczyk and his backup, second-year pro Landon Young. That put Hurst in at right tackle for their joint practice session with the Green Bay Packers with Penning on the left side. With the top four tackles out of action, a pair of undrafted rookies suddenly found themselves in the spotlight: New Mexico State’s Sage Doxtater (at left tackle) and Montana State’s Lewis Kidd (at right tackle). Doxtater later exited practice escorted by trainers.
We don’t know yet how severe the injuries to Penning and Hurst are, or how much time they’re expected to miss while recovering, though it’s a good sign that Penning was able to return and gut it out. It’s very much a fluid situation. Hopefully they both bounce back quickly. With the regular season set to kick off in just a few weeks, the Saints will need all hands on deck. Stay tuned for updates as Wednesday’s practice session continues with Saints coach Dennis Allen expected to speak afterwards.
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