Key Takeaways from Tuesday, August 12

The first couple of weeks of Saints training camp were relatively injury-free. Unfortunately, as we know, injuries are part of the NFL, and the Saints got a big dose of that in the last few days. Along with the injuries to Clapp and Pline, wide receiver Bub Means will be out several weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the Chargers game. We also learned Tuesday that cornerback Alontae Taylor injured his groin during the tail end of the Friday scrimmage at Irvine, which was a bit of a blow, considering Taylor has had an outstanding camp at the all-important Star position in Brandon Staley’s 3-4 defense. In Taylor’s absence five-year veteran Terrell Burgess took over the Star position during Tuesday’s practice and recorded a sack of Spencer Rattler on a third down, ending the drive. There was a bit of good news as well with left guard Trevor Penning, whose foot injury was not as serious but is still expected to miss some time. In Penning’s absence, Dillon Radunz, a fifth-year veteran from North Dakota State, took all the reps at left guard Tuesday. Radunz showed some versatility, considering he played the Chargers game at left tackle, and was able to move seamlessly into the guard spot. Also, Torricelli Simpkins III took all the reps as the backup center (Clapp’s spot). Simpkins ( a guard by trade) took all center reps in the Chargers game after Clapp went down on the second offensive play, performed well, and now has a tremendous opportunity to make the final 53-man roster.