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The New Orleans Saints got banged up during their first preseason game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, but they finally got some good news on one of the injuries. Former first-round pick Trevor Penning was carted off during the game, leading many to assume the worst, but he got a positive diagnosis on Tuesday.
Penning is dealing with a foot injury and is expected to only miss a few weeks, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media. This is about as good of an update as could've been hoped for considering the visual of Penning leaving the game on a cart.
Unfortunately, all of Penning's teammates didn't get as fortunate. Center Will Clapp is officially out for the season with a foot injury of his own that he sustained on Sunday.
The Saints gave up a lot of draft capital to go up and get Penning with the No. 19 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, but he has had a rocky career thus far. He came into the league as a tackle, but has struggled to give New Orleans consistent production on the outside.
This season, Penning has shifted inside to guard and was having a very strong training camp on the inside. That has given the Saints optimism that he can be a stalwart up front long into the future, and they will get a chance to see him at that spot this season when he recovers from this relatively short-term injury.
Having a healthy offensive line will be paramount for the Saints and new head coach Kellen Moore this season if New Orleans wants to provide a good ecosystem to grow for whichever young quarterback that it decides to go with. Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough are battling it out for the starting job during the preseason, with the rookie showing some signs of promise despite Rattler holding a slight lead in the competition at the moment.
Regardless of who ends up on top of the depth chart, both signal callers will be relieved that Penning should be back on the field before too long despite this injury.
