New Orleans Saints: Gregg Williams, Pierre Thomas And Team Injury News
By Keith Null
Running back Pierre Thomas won’t be helping the Saints in any of their playoff games this year as the team announced today they have placed him on season ending injured reserve ultimately because of a nagging ankle injury.
Thomas originally injured the ankle in week three missing the next nine games while healing from a torn tendon. He made his return in week fourteen against the St. Louis Rams rushing for 122 yards and one touchdown through three games before sitting out in week seventeen after tweaking the same ankle just days before facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
His future with the Saints is in question considering the teams new love affair with rookie sensation Chris Ivory who became the teams leading rusher in his absence.
Rumors surfaced in October that the Saints were attempting to trade him to the New England Patriots for an undisclosed defensive back. However the deal fell through when the Patriots demanded draft compensation to go along with Thomas. Will he return in 2011?
Earlier today news broke that New Orleans had signed running back Joique Bell off the Eagles practice sqaud. At the time it was unkown who or what the Saints planned to do to clear a roster spot for him but it’s obvious now he was signed to replace Thomas.
Several sources, including Denver Bronco beat writer Woody Paige, are reporting that the Broncos will seek permission from the Saints to interview defensive coordinator Gregg Williams for their head coaching position vacated after the firing of Josh McDaniels.
That’s not good news for the Saints as Williams took over a struggling defensive unit that was ranked near the bottom of the league in virtually every defensive category before the 2009 season and transformed them into a top five unit in less than two years.
New Orleasn does not have to grant the Broncos permission, and they may not, but no indication has neen made to Williams level of interest to renter the head coaching ranks. He was the head coach of the Buffalo Bills from 2001-2003.
Denve has more than Williams on their radar as they will also interview interview their interim coach Eric Studesville , Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey and New York Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell.
Finally the Saints have a released their injury reports and one glaring bright spots is that leading receiver Marques Colston is listed as a full participant in practice after having minor surgery to clean up some loose cartilage his right knee two weeks ago.
Defensive end Alex Brown (shoulder) and linebacker Anthony Waters (ankle) were also listed as full. Tight ends Jeremy Shockey (groin) and David Thomas (knee) were listed as limited.
Linebacker Danny Clark (hamstring), tight end Jimmy Graham (ankle), defensive linemen Anthony Hargrove (knee) and safety Malcolm Jenkins (knee) were all held out of practice and are questionable for Saturday’s playoff game against the Seahawks. They will be reassessed at the end of the week.
Check out Keith Null’s weekly article about the Saints on NFL.com by clicking here.
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