Saints WR Adrian Arrington was having the best camp of his four-year career when he woke up with knee pain on Aug. 3. After practicing in the morning, he had an MRI taken that revealed a meniscus tear.
Speaking for the first time Monday since having surgery to repair the meniscus, Arrington said he was still at least a few weeks away from returning to action.
“It depends on when I can get to the pool (for rehabilitation),” said Arrington, who wore a bandage on his right knee. “If I can get to the pool next week, it will be two weeks (of rehab) from there.”
New Orleans opens with Washington on Sept. 9. Arrington appeared to be on track to lock up the No. 4 spot at receiver before his injury. Now he has to hope his track record with the Saints, which includes only five games and nine catches, will keep a roster spot open for him.
He has spent most of his tenure in New Orleans on the practice squad.
“It’s always important to be out there, but I think I’ve been out there enough the past few years where they know the things I can do,” he said. “Now it’s just a matter of getting of getting healthy. It’s frustrating to not be out there.”
Joe Morgan, competing for the fourth spot at receiver in Arrington’s absence, caught a 53-yard TD pass against Jacksonville on Friday. Arrington said a play like that did not make him worry about his job security.
“I’m competing for a job with him, but I like to see everybody go out there and do well,” he said. “Plus, a long play like that is probably going to go to a guy like Joe more than me anyway, so I wasn’t even thinking about that.”
Coaching error?: The Saints tackled terribly in Friday night’s 27-24 loss to Jacksonville, and interim coach Joe Vitt said Monday some of the blame might be on him for not having a practice at the Superdome before New Orleans’ exhibition home opener.
A new turf is put down at the dome each year, and suspended coach Sean Payton usually had them work out at least once there before the first game.
“In pregame warm-up, (Jaguars coach Mike) Mularkey was complaining to me about all their players falling down,” Vitt said. “Mike, I really don’t care about your players falling down. It’s not really my responsibility. But, I do think we got our cleats stuck a couple times and probably should have had a practice there first. That being said, the tackling’s been addressed. The tackling has to get better.”
Injury update: One injured Saints backup lineman got good news, and another got some bad news. Vitt said DE Turk McBride, out with an ankle injury, was running around before practice and was “awfully close” to returning. Meanwhile, DT Tom Johnson, in contention for one of the last roster spots, will be out another two weeks according to Vitt.
Rookie WR Nick Toon, who has missed the first three preseason games with a left foot injury, likely will not play against the Texans this Saturday but could be available for the Saints’ final exhibition game at Tennessee.
“He’s probably doubtful for this week,” Vitt said. “He’s out of the boot now. He’s getting better every day. We feel fairly confident that he’s going to be ready against Tennessee.”
Follow Saints reporter Guerry Smith on Twitter @CBSSportsNFLNO.
