New Orleans Saints

The NFL announced the New Orleans Saints will use the Jacksonville Jaguars' TIAA Bank Field as a temporary home field for their Week 1 game against the Green Bay Packers on Sept. 12.

Amie Just and Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune first reported Wednesday the decision was made in coordination with the NFL as the closest available venue while New Orleans deals with a resource shortage and continued power outages in wake of Hurricane Ida.

The venue change comes one day after Saints head coach Sean Payton confirmed the organization would spend at least the next few weeks based in Dallas while their home city continues its recovery. He noted contingency plans were being put in place through Week 4, with the ability to return to New Orleans sooner if it became possible.

"And we've got enough fans in this area and Houston and certainly from Northern Louisiana that we think that would be something that's very realistic," Payton told reporters about the potential of playing a game in Texas.

AT&T Stadium in Dallas wasn't an option for Week 1 because the venue will already be setting up for the Los Bukis concert on Sept. 15, while the Houston Texans are using their NRG Stadium to host the Jaguars to open the regular season.

The Cowboys are hosting the Carolina Panthers in Week 4, the Saints' second scheduled home date of the season, but NRG Stadium may be available Oct. 3 after hosting a college football game between Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State one day earlier.

New Orleans then has two more road games sandwiched around its Week 6 bye. So, having a backloaded home schedule with just two home dates in the first seven weeks should be beneficial to the franchise playing as many games at the Caesars Superdome as possible in 2021.

If the current plans remain in place, the Saints could return to the Superdome for a Halloween afternoon clash with the reigning Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 8. That would still leave six true home games.

Hurricane Ida, a Category 4 storm when it arrived to Louisiana, has led to at least five deaths, caused considerable flooding and led to widespread power outages affecting over one million people that could last upward of a month, according to CNN.

Given the uncertain timeframe for a return to normalcy in New Orleans, the team has worked with the Cowboys and two college programs, SMU and TCU, to set up plans for the potential use of indoor practice facilities, per ESPN's Mike Triplett.

The Saints were forced to play their entire 2005 home schedule away from the Superdome following Hurricane Katrina.

New Orleans Saints wideout Michael Thomas reportedly will be placed on the physically unable to perform list as he continues his recovery from foot surgery.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reported Thomas will miss at least the first five games of the season. 

Thomas, 28, has been beset by injuries in the past year. Injuries and disciplinary issues held him to seven games in 2020 and just 40 catches for 438 yards and no scores—a far cry from his epic 2019 season (149 receptions for 1,725 yards and nine touchdowns). 

The three-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All-Pro underwent surgery in June to repair ankle ligaments. It was a major blow for a Saints team trying to navigate a post-Drew Brees world. 

Thomas is in the conversation as the best receiver in football alongside Davante Adams and DeAndre Hopkins. Another period on the bench would be a devastating blow for the New Orleans offense and add pressure to superstar running back Alvin Kamara to carry the load.

Wideouts Tre'Quan Smith, Marquez Callaway and Deonte Harris will need to fill the void, but replacing a player of Thomas' ability is nearly impossible. The Saints will be treading water until he returns.

Saints coach Sean Payton says he expects the team to be away from New Orleans for at least the next month in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.

Payton told reporters the team is planning to stay in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and would likely play home games at the Cowboys' AT&T Stadium. Jeff Duncan of the Times-Picayune reported the team would be practicing at TCU starting next week.

Hurricane Ida made landfall Sunday as a Category 4 storm, leaving the entire city of New Orleans without power and doing severe damage across Louisiana.

The team was slated to open its regular season Sept. 12 at home against the Green Bay Packers. The Cowboys are on the road in Week 1.

The only potential scheduling conflict comes in Week 4, when the Cowboys and Saints were both set to host home games. While it is yet to be determined exactly how long the Saints will be out of New Orleans, a contingency plan will need to be put in place. It's unlikely the New York Giants, the Saints' Week 4 opponent, would be able to host that game because the Jets are set to have a Week 4 home game. The Giants and Jets share Metlife Stadium.

This story will obviously need time to develop, as the city of New Orleans rebuilds following the natural disaster.

New Orleans Saints owner Gayle Benson donated $1 million toward the Gulf Coast Renewal Fund in an effort to help Louisiana recover from the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.

The Saints announced the donation Monday and explained "we as an organization want to do everything within our power to assist those who have been impacted by the storm."

According to the statement, the team will remain in touch with government officials and offer the use of the team's facilities, "all of which have sustained only superficial damage," to those in need of assistance.

The Saints are scheduled to host the Green Bay Packers in their season opener on Sept. 12, and the team's announcement revealed that the "Caesars Superdome received only minor damage and will be prepared to host games as soon as the city's infrastructure will allow."

The team is scheduled to practice for three days at the home of the Dallas Cowboys after evacuating New Orleans.

It also canceled last Saturday's preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals because of the hurricane.

The 2005 Saints played home games in three different cities and practiced at various locations in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The team's return to New Orleans and successful 2006 season that saw it reach the NFC Championship Game was seen as a symbolic message of hope to the city still recovering from the storm.

As for Hurricane Ida, Jason Hanna and Madeline Holcombe of CNN reported it "left catastrophic damage across southeastern Louisiana, killing at least one person, leaving much of the New Orleans area without power, interrupting phone service and sending rescuers scrambling Monday to flooded homes where people were anxiously asking for help."

Ida has since been downgraded to a tropical storm and is expected to cause additional flooding as it makes its way north.

The New Orleans Saints are temporarily moving their practices to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, because of Hurricane Ida, according to the Associated Press' Brett Martel.

Martel reported the Saints will work out Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before turning their focus to their season opener Sept. 12 against the Green Bay Packers.

The team already canceled its preseason finale since New Orleans was in the expected path of Ida.

According to CNN, Ida made landfall Sunday as a Category 4 hurricane and produced winds of up to 150 mph. There are widespread power outages across Louisiana, and some portions of the state were placed under a tornado watch.

Gov. John Bel Edwards remained optimistic, however, that Ida wouldn't breach the levees that were constructed around New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Katrina displaced the Saints from New Orleans for the entire 2005 NFL season. Caesars Superdome was initially used for residents who had been displaced and suffered extensive damage to its roof.

The Saints played home games at LSU's Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the Alamodome in San Antonio and had one matchup at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.

It's unclear what contingencies the organization has in place should Ida jeopardize its home opener in two weeks. The Saints are on the road for Weeks 2 and 3.

The New Orleans Saints will head to Dallas on Saturday in advance of Hurricane Ida, which is expected to make landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on the Louisiana coast Sunday afternoon.

Per Katherine Terrell of The Athletic, the Saints will practice at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the home of the Dallas Cowboys. The plan is for the team to stay in town through Wednesday.

New Orleans originally had scheduled workouts for Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of next week, per Amie Just and Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com.

The Saints also were scheduled to host the Arizona Cardinals at New Orleans' Caesars Superdome on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. The game was moved to noon Saturday before being canceled entirely at Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards' request, per a team statement.

As Just and Duncan noted, the Saints have evacuated the area in advance of hurricanes before.

Hurricane Katrina forced the Saints to relocate their home base to San Antonio for the entire 2005 season. In 2004, the Saints practiced for three days during the preseason in San Antonio to get out of Hurricane Ivan's way. They migrated to Indianapolis for a few days in 2008 ahead of Hurricane Gustav, and then they followed suit a few years later in 2012 to Cincinnati because of Hurricane Isaac.

A Category 4 hurricane means sustained winds of 130-156 mph. All Louisiana coastal parishes are under a hurricane warning, and that also includes Orleans Parish, home of the Caesars Superdome. The same goes for Jefferson Parish, where the team's training facility is located.

After initially moving up the start time of the game, the New Orleans Saints have decided to cancel Saturday's preseason tilt against the Arizona Cardinals because of Hurricane Ida. 

The Saints issued a statement Friday announcing their decision:

Due to the intensification of the hurricane throughout the day and after the most recent tropical update, the team's leadership has made the decision in the best interests of all personnel that may have been directly and indirectly affected by the storm. This announcement comes after constant communications with City of New Orleans officials, the National Weather Service, Homeland Security, Governor Edwards and leading state officials and the National Football League.

The game was originally scheduled to be played at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday. The Saints announced earlier in the day that kickoff was moved up to 1 p.m. at the Caesars Superdome. 

Per Alex Sosnowski of AccuWeather.com, Hurricane Ida made landfall in Cuba on Friday afternoon and is "barreling into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico."

Sosnowski noted Ida is projected "likely to rapidly intensify and could even approach the U.S. coast as Category 4 hurricane."

The National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane warning for parts of Louisiana along the Gulf Coast: "Hurricane-force winds are expected Sunday in portions of the Hurricane Warning area along the Louisiana coast, including metropolitan New Orleans, with potentially catastrophic wind damage possible where the core of Ida moves onshore." 

Saturday would have been the final game of the preseason schedule for the Saints and Cardinals. 

New Orleans is scheduled to open the regular season at home Sept. 12 against the Green Bay Packers.    

The New Orleans Saints reportedly selected Jameis Winston as their starting quarterback for Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers following a competition with Taysom Hill throughout training camp and the preseason. 

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the news Friday.

Drew Brees, who'd filled the Saints' starting role since 2006, announced his retirement in March at the age of 42.

The two-time NFL Offensive Player of the Year, who led New Orleans to the Super Bowl XLIV title at the end of the 2009 campaign, left a massive void after throwing for over 68,000 yards with 491 touchdown passes in 228 regular-season appearances across 15 years with the franchise.

Winston signed with the Saints in April 2020 to serve as Brees' backup last season, which allowed Hill to remain in the multifaceted playmaker role he'd filled throughout his tenure.

When the future Hall of Famer suffered broken ribs and a collapsed lung in November, the coaching staff gave Hill his first stint as a starting quarterback. He compiled four passing touchdowns, four rushing touchdowns and two interceptions en route to a 3-1 record.

Winston re-signed with New Orleans in March, pitting himself against Hill to determine the full-time successor to Brees.

Both quarterbacks maintained throughout the process it was a friendly competition with a focus on internal improvement rather than outdoing the other guy.

"I love working with Jameis, he works really hard. I think he's really smart," Hill said Aug. 1. "He has got a lot of experience playing the position."

Winston explained Aug. 19 working alongside a "high-level competitor" like Hill tends to "make you better naturally":

"I think we are just great teammates. The main thing at the quarterback position, everyone in that quarterback room, our main focus is to win and protect the football. That's the only thing that we really think about. So we're constantly, consistently trying to help each other with that, especially the winning part. So as long as we are they doing our job, like it doesn't matter who's in or who's not. It's about this team more than it is about us individually."

The competition continued deep into the preseason as neither quarterback could distance himself during the early stages of camp, but Winston's strong showing in the second exhibition contest gave him the upper hand.

Winston was the presumed favorite coming into the season, given his five years of experience leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offense. While he was mistake-prone with the Bucs, he's also got the arm talent to make any NFL throw, which gives him plenty of upside within the Saints' scheme.

In his last season with Tampa (2019), he became the first quarterback in NFL history to record at least 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in the same season. It was the epitome of his boom-or-bust style, and New Orleans will hope he can at least cut down a bit on the errors in 2021.

Meanwhile, picking Winston as the starter for the Sept. 12 clash with Green Bay frees up Hill to return to his previous role of doing a little bit of everything for the Saints' offense. That'll likely include some QB snaps, particularly in short-yardage situations and on trick plays.

Jameis Winston has reportedly received "significant" support within the New Orleans Saints' locker room as he attempts to win the team's starting quarterback job over Taysom Hill.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported the update Thursday night: 

Winston was terrific in the Saints' second preseason game, a 23-21 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday night. He completed nine of his 10 passes for 123 yards with two touchdowns—strikes of 43 and 29 yards to Marquez Callaway—and no interceptions.

It was an important performance for the 27-year-old former Tampa Bay Buccaneers starter after neither quarterback was overly impressive in the team's first exhibition contest, a 17-14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Hill didn't play poorly against the Jags, but his completion percentage hovered just above 50 (11 of 20) to go along with 138 yards and one score.

Saints head coach Sean Payton wasn't prepared to name a starter after Monday's game, though.

"It's important to see all of them," Payton told reporters. "I just finished telling [the players]: It's a team game, but we're always updating our resume. You're always trying to put your best foot forward and create that value for yourself."

New Orleans wraps up the preseason Saturday night when it hosts the Arizona Cardinals.

Winston has seemingly pulled ahead in the race with Hill, especially as he garners increased support within the locker room, and he'll bring a lot of upside to the offense if ultimately chosen.

The Florida State product has never lacked playmaking ability, tallying 131 total touchdowns (121 passing and 10 rushing) across 72 appearances with the Bucs, but he struggled to cut down on the mistakes. In 2019, he became the first quarterback in NFL history with 30 TDs and 30 interceptions in the same season.

If he can keep those game-changing errors in check, it could go a long way to making sure the Saints offense doesn't suffer a massive drop-off following the retirement of Drew Brees.

New Orleans kicks off the regular season Sept. 12 with a home game against the Green Bay Packers, and so far all signs point toward Winston leading the offense in that contest.