The first quarter of the New Orleans Saints’ preseason couldn’t have gone much worse. Not only did they quickly fall behind 14-0 to the Baltimore Ravens, but three key defensive players suffered injuries in the process.
Cornerback Brandon Browner was carted back to the locker room with a lower leg injury after the opening drive. Linebacker Dannell Ellerbe and cornerback Delvin Breaux also walked into the locker room during the first quarter. The team has not announced any updates.
Browner took a helmet to his right knee/shin area from teammate Hau’oli Kikaha during a goal-line scrum on the final play of Baltimore’s 16-play touchdown drive to start the game. Browner limped off the field and continued to favor the leg as he was assessed by trainers for a few minutes. They ultimately decided to cart him back to the locker room.
Ellerbe was injured on the play right before Browner and was down on one knee on the field for a few minutes before reportedly walking back to the locker room. And Breaux, the Saints’ No. 3 cornerback, left the field after a deep pass break-up on the Ravens’ second drive.
Breaux hit both his shoulder and his head on the turf during the play. It’s possible he suffered a head injury since he didn’t appear to be favoring any other body part as trainers assessed him or as he walked back to the locker room.
Losing Browner for any significant amount of time would be bad enough. Losing his top backup would be even worse.
The Saints made improving their cornerback play a top priority this offseason after they struggled so badly at the position last year outside of No. 1 corner Keenan Lewis. The big, physical Browner was brought in to help the Saints transition to a physical press-coverage style.
