Saints vs. Falcons injury report: Taysom Hill returns to practice

It’s been an eventful week in injury news for the New Orleans Saints. Starting QB Jameis Winston will miss the rest of the year with a knee injury, star WR Michael Thomas won’t make his return this season thanks to complications with his recovery from last year’s ankle injury, but at least there’s some good news on this week’s injury report. Though accompanied by early concerns.

The Saints welcome back QB and offensive weapon Taysom Hill for the first time since suffering a Week 5 concussion against the Washington Football Team. They also welcome back RB Dwayne Washington who is a core special teamer for the unit, along with rookie first-round selection Payton Turner.

Unfortunately, there is still room for additional concern despite some good news. Already thin at the position, WR Ty Montgomery missed practice with a hamstring injury, safety Malcolm Jenkins missed with a knee injury, and LT Terron Armstead was limited with a groin injury.

The Saints have battled offensive line injuries all season, and adding their top tackle back to this list would be less than ideal. As would be missing a leader on defense like Malcolm Jenkins who has been a huge part of the Saints’ success on that side of the ball all season. It’s still early in the week for all of the aforementioned statuses, so lots to keep an eye out on throughout the week.

As for the Atlanta Falcons, Calvin Ridley has taken an indefinite leave from football for mental health purposes. The Falcons went out and reunited with speedy deep threat Marvin Hall. We’ll see if Hall makes his return to the field for the Falcons immediately or if it takes a couple weeks. They were also without DT Jonathan Bullard due to a concussion and WR Russell Gage was limited with a groin injury, adding to their own list of concerns at pass-catcher.

Perhaps the biggest story to watch this week will be whether Taysom Hill or Trevor Siemian will assume the QB role against the Falcons. Hill made his first career start last season against Atlanta and went 18/23 for 233 yards and ran for two touchdowns on the way to a 24-9 Week 11 win.

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