New Orleans Saints: Sean Payton Mum On Injury Situation

As the New Orleans Saints prepare to travel cross-country to face the Seattle Seahawks in the wild-card round next weekend, head coach Sean Payton had little to say about his banged-up team in his Monday presser.

“I think that guys are getting treatment,” said Payton. “We’ll get them up to speed, get them healthy. We’ll have to be real careful about how we practice this week and go from there.”

Safety Malcolm Jenkins, running back Chris Ivory and tight end Jimmy Graham were all injured in Sunday’s 23-13 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Saints were already short-handed in the game, as running back Pierre Thomas re-injured his ankle in practice and Marques Colston had a minor arthroscopic procedure on his knee last week.

Tight end Jeremy Shockey also missed Sunday’s game.

The Seahawks are 100-to-1 dogs to win the Super Bowl, and many dispute whether or not a 7-9 team even belongs in the playoffs, let alone hosting a playoff game.

But if key players for the Saints cannot go this weekend, the Seahawks could be poised for an upset.

Perhaps that’s why Payton isn’t saying much.

“I won’t have anything to say in regards to any of these players right now regarding injuries,” he said. “I was optimistic today with the news in general and we’ll get them up to speed and get them healthy as quick as possible.”

Whether it’s quick enough to make wild-card weekend remains to be seen.

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