Last year, then-rookie nose tackle John Jenkins showed promise and potential for the Saints, appearing in all 16 regular-season games and starting five. This year, Jenkins has disappeared.
Via Katherine Terrell of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Jenkins currently is healthy. But the Saints didn’t bring him to Dallas for Sunday night’s showdown against the Cowboys.
Recovered from pectoral surgery, Jenkins has played in only one game this season. In the other two, Jenkins didn’t dress. Brandon Deaderick, a veteran who signed a one-year deal with the Saints this year, has supplanted Jenkins.
Still, it’s hard not to wonder whether something else is going on. Deactivated players who aren’t healthy typically travel with the team to away games.
If nothing else, the development could prompt a team looking for help at the position to consider placing a phone call to the Saints before the October 28 trade deadline.