The hits keep coming for the New Orleans Saints offensive line, which is going to be without Landon Young while he recovers from a knee injury suffered at Friday’s training camp practice. Young went down late in team drills at the Caesars Superdome with what head coach Dennis Allen said was an MCL sprain, though Young needs to complete further evaluations to determine the severity.
In a best-case scenario, Young could expect to return in as many as three weeks, missing the Saints’ preseason games but in time for their Week 1 home opener with the Tennessee Titans. If it’s a severe strain, Young could need four or more weeks to recover. The good news is that these injuries rarely require surgery.
Still, it’s a tough break for a unit that’s already been banged up to start the season. The Saints had to put starting left guard Andrus Peat on ice early in training camp with a quadriceps injury, which followed a season-ending injury to his backup Trai Turner. Other backups Scott Lashley (a right tackle) and Koda Martin (a guard) were also waived with injury designations, and rookie draft pick Nick Saldiveri has missed time this summer managing his own ailments.
Young primarily lines up at tackle on both sides of the line, having played left tackle in college at Kentucky before cross-training at right tackle in New Orleans. He also saw some snaps at guard this summer. Hopefully he’ll be able to return in time for the start of the season, but stay tuned for updates.
