The New Orleans Saints are heading out to the West Coast for a week of shared practice sessions with the Los Angeles Chargers before their third preseason game. Los Angeles hosted New Orleans last year with a similar setup, which all parties enjoyed enough to repeat. This is a great opportunity for SoCal Saints fans to get out and see their team in person.
These teams couldn’t be in more different situations. The Chargers are coming off the heels of a victory over the Seattle Seahawks, though their depth continues to be tested by season-ending injuries – the latest loss starter is safety Jaylen Watkins, joining cornerback Jason Verrett and tight end Hunter Henry. The Saints are finally getting healthy, with first round draft pick Marcus Davenport, free agent wide receiver Cameron Meredith, and left guard Andrus Peat getting more involved.
Last year’s joint practices were very exciting. Then-rookie right tackle Ryan Ramczyk saw his first action in months after spring hip surgery against Pro Bowl pass rushers Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa, while the Saints’ secondary was tested daily by an underrated quarterback-receiver tandem of Phillip Rivers and Keenan Allen.
As for the game itself? The third preseason game is traditionally called the dress rehearsal, and it looks like this will be the first time we see Drew Brees drop back and throw in live action since the 2017 playoffs run. He was held out of the first two preseason games to let backups Tom Savage and Taysom Hill compete, which was disastrous.
Based off of previous preseasons, Brees will get the first half of the game to himself with the starting offense and defense moving at full speed. I’m most excited to see how he connects with rookie receiver Tre’Quan Smith.
On defense, All-Pro defensive end Cameron Jordan will get his first reps of the preseason, too. While Trey Hendrickson has been the talk of the preseason in his second year, I’m most anxious to see how Jordan and Davenport look when on the field together.
It’ll be a fun matchup to say the least. Brees and Rivers are two living legends at quarterback. Allen and Michael Thomas are two of the seven best receivers in football right now. Jordan, Bosa, and Other Ingram each have a case for this year’s Defensive Player of the Year award. Both teams field good offensive lines and strong secondaries, and probably feel like they’re title contenders. Neither of them will want to see time expire with a loss on their plate.
This is the only nationally-televised game of the Saints preseason, and you can catch it on CBS. Zach Strief and Deuce McAllister will still call the game on WWL Radio, which is broadcast basically everywhere in the Gulf South. This penultimate exhibition game will kick off at 7 p.m. CDT, so get your affairs in order ahead of time.
Finally, the TL;DR:
What: New Orleans Saints (1-1) at Los Angeles Chargers (1-1)
When: Saturday, Aug. 25 at 7 p.m. CDT
Where: StubHub Center, Carson, CA
Referee: John Hussey
Television: CBS
Radio: WWL and local affiliates
