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Report: Saints' Noah Spence Suffers Torn ACL Injury Training Away from Team
May 27, 2020
New Orleans Saints defensive end Noah Spence reportedly suffered a torn ACL while working out on his own amid the coronavirus pandemic.
ESPN's Mike Triplett reported the Saints have placed Spence on the reserve/non-football injury list. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network provided further details, including the team's signing of linebacker Anthony Chickillo to take the roster spot:
The 26-year-old Philadelphia native was a 5-star prospect in the 2012 college football recruiting class before signing with Ohio State.
He's struggled to reach those sky-high expectations both in college, which included a stop at Eastern Kentucky, and at the NFL level because of injuries and off-field problems.
Spence enjoyed a solid rookie season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, tallying 22 total tackles, 5.5 sacks and three forced fumbles across 16 appearances in 2016. However, he's registered just two sacks and appeared in only 25 games since the start of the 2017 season. He made seven appearances for the Washington Redskins last season before getting waived in November.
The 2016 second-round pick joined the Saints in December, and he re-signed in March on a one-year, $910,000 contract.
"Sometimes when you are younger and going through things in the NFL off the field (and) stuff like that, you lose your focus," Spence told reporters after signing the new deal. "I just have to get back to being locked in all the way on my goals, and that's going to help me to win."
New Orleans isn't required to pay Spence's salary since his injury didn't occur during an official team activity, but Triplett noted the team could provide him with an injury settlement or place him on injured reserve after final rosters are set given the unique COVID-19 circumstances.
The typical one-year timetable for an ACL tear would put the defensive end on track to return in time for training camp in 2021.