METAIRIE, La. – Jimmy Graham was held out of team drills during the New Orleans Saints’ practice on Wednesday because of his shoulder injury, leaving him highly questionable for Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions.
Meanwhile, running back Mark Ingram fully participated in practice and said he is “full go” with no limitations after missing the past four weeks with a broken hand.
Saints coach Sean Payton declined to offer any specific updates on any of the Saints’ injuries.
Graham was dressed for Wednesday’s practice and participated in some individual work during the limited portion of practice open to the media. But it’s too early in the week to predict whether there’s a chance that he'll play Sunday.
ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported this past Sunday that it’s highly questionable Graham will be ready to play this week after he suffered a shoulder injury in Week 5. Schefter cited a source as saying Graham would not have been able to play last week had the Saints not had a bye. And the Saints signed veteran tight end Tom Crabtree last week as potential depth.
Ingram, meanwhile, looks like he’ll play for the first time since Week 2. And he insisted that the Saints haven’t “babied me or eased me into practice.”
“I’m ready to go, full go, 100 percent, full tilt. I’ve been getting all the (usual amount of) reps in practice,” Ingram said. “I’ve been doing everything, catching, running, blocking. So whatever’s asked of me, I’m ready to do it.”
It’s impossible to predict how much the Saints will use Ingram since fellow running backs Khiry Robinson and Pierre Thomas were playing so well in his absence. Ingram led that trio in touches when they were all healthy during the first two games, but all three were involved.
“We’ll kind of see how we handle that on Sunday. But obviously we value depth at that position,” Payton said.
Saints center Jonathan Goodwin (knee) also practiced fully on Wednesday. So did fullback Erik Lorig – who had been out since training camp with a significant ankle injury. Goodwin should be fine to play at Detroit, though it’s unclear if Lorig will require more time to get up to full speed.
Nickel cornerback Patrick Robinson (hamstring) and backup linebackers Ramon Humber (ankle) and Kyle Knox (ankle) were also held out of team drills Wednesday.
