Trevor Penning is progressing from injury, but Week 1 is still in doubt

Since offensive lineman Trevor Penning was selected by the New Orleans Saints in 2022, his career has been filled with ups and downs. Injuries, confidence issues, and lack of development have been the main culprits for these struggles, but it can reach a point where a team is unsure about what to do with a player. The good news was that the Saints viewed Penning as a potential option at their LG spot, which was a massive issue on the offensive line going into the offseason. This move for Penning was always going to be a learning curve for the former tackle, but in practice, he was showing signs of getting settled into his new position. Even though there were still struggles in the preseason, Penning was still showing the coaching staff that they could go into the season with him as the starter. However, just as it did early in his career, an injury halted any progress.

Against the Los Angeles Chargers, Penning suffered a foot injury that was perceived as minor, and the recovery period shouldn’t last long, but it could still go into the regular season. Since the announcement of the injury, there have been minor updates, but in Kellen Moore’s press conference today, the Saints head coach provided some further information that could be seen as both positive and negative.

The New Orleans Saints having a near fully healthy group of starters would be an excellent situation to start the season, and there is a real chance Penning can play right away. Still, I doubt the coaching staff will rush Penning to play and would rather have him sit out this week to heal so that he can be ready for the rest of the season. It is much worse to lose Penning for an extended period of time than just missing him for week 1. The Saints also have two backups, Dillon Radunz and Torricelli Simpkins, whom they can feel comfortable subbing in while Penning is out.

Time will tell if the New Orleans Saints can have Trevor Penning for Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals, and with the game being 10 days away, there is a good chance it will happen.