The New Orleans Saints have a lot of reasons to be excited heading into the 2021 season.
Unfortunately, everyone with the organization has to deal with the reality of the effects of Hurricane Ida.
Obviously, those not associated with an NFL franchise are having to deal with a lot worse.
But it is still newsworthy as the team has evacuated to Dallas to begin the week.
#Saints HC Sean Payton says Dallas made a lot of sense as a place to practice. The initial plan is practice til Wednesday here. Tuesday is roster cuts but right now it’s practice and assess from there
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) August 30, 2021
The crazy thing is that roster cuts are Tuesday, meaning around 30 players will be let go.
If they cannot return to New Orleans right away, hopefully the team figures something out.
A Temporary Home
New Orleans was right in the path of the storm and that means the Saints have to wait and see how everything turns out.
Saints were already planning to let players have Thursday-Sunday off this week prior to the storm because of the new NFL schedule layout. He said there's a good chance they'll be practicing somewhere other than Metairie next Monday as well.
— Mike Triplett (@MikeTriplett) August 30, 2021
Dallas was an easy option and it is good to see two franchises working together during this time.
The next question becomes what will happen if the Saints can’t play at home in Week 1.
The status of the Supderdome is one thing, but whether it would be right to host the event at all depends on the damage in the area.
The Saints can’t morally host a game if the whole surrounding area is battered, which does not appear to be the case according to most reports.
New Orleans is scheduled to host the Green Bay Packers in Week 1, but don’t have another home game until October 3.
If the game has to be moved, don’t expect it to be played up in Wisconsin.
That would just not be fair.
Day By Day
There is really nothing else to do but to take it a day at a time and just see what happens.
The players and coaches should just be blessed they were able to evacuate so easily thanks to ownership.
Some people don’t have that option.
Hosting the Week 1 matchup in New Orleans should be the goal to give everyone something to look forward to after yet another violent storm rolled through the region.
Drew Brees is no longer around to lead the magic, but Jameis Winston is now in line to become a hero in his own right.
Hopefully, everything goes well and New Orleans can recover fast and find some solace in the Saints this year.
NEXT: Jameis Winston Officially Heir To Drew Brees' Saints Throne