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With news already breaking that Marcus Davenport would likely miss the remainder of the 2019 season and postseason due to a foot injury insured last week against the San Francisco 49ers, it appears the hits keep on coming.
Former fellow first round pick Sheldon Rankins - he of the only one first round pick used to acquire him - is now set to miss the remainder of the year as well due to an injured ankle.
The fear is Sheldon Rankins will not be able to return this year for the Saints, according to a source.
— John Hendrix (@JohnJHendrix) December 11, 2019
The Saints acted quickly yesterday, likely anticipating these combined results, bringing in for workout defensive linemen like Shane Ray and Noah Spence.
It appears the latter has ended up with a contract.
#Saints are signing DE Noah Spence today, source says. With Marcus Davenport out for the season (as @TomPelissero and @RapSheet reported) the former #Buccaneers second-rounder is in.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) December 11, 2019
Spence will likely help spell Trey Hendrickson at defensive end, with Hendrickson likely to see a significant uptick in snaps after losing Davenport. Spence’s presence on the outside likely means Mario Edwards can be used more in the interior of the defensive line to fill in for the injured Rankins. Expect to see more Shy Tuttle as the season concludes as well. It’s also possible the Saints call up 2018 rookie darling Taylor Stallworth from the practice squad. Stallworth played admirably when Rankins went down due to an injured Achilles at the end of last season, including in the playoff win against the Eagles.
Dominant performance by my Saints rookie client Taylor Stallworth in yesterday's victory against the Eagles. Here he is head to head with All-Pro center Jason Kelce... pic.twitter.com/8AKqgYrnq5
— Brett Tessler (@TesslerSports) January 14, 2019
Stay tuned for additional updates.
UPDATE:
Davenport and Rankins have both been officially placed on IR, their seasons over.
The Saints have officially placed DE Marcus Davenport and DT Sheldon Rankins on IR, while signing DE Noah Spence as well as DT T.Y. McGill.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) December 11, 2019
While Spence is discussed above, TY McGill is a new name for Saints fans.
McGill has bounced around since signing as an UDFA with the Seahawks in 2015. Likely nothing to get excited about, but we can all hope McGill can come in and impress immediately. https://t.co/4BSh6I0psL
— Canal St. Chronicles (@SaintsCSC) December 11, 2019