Clay and Gaines questionable for SundayBoth Charles Clay and E.J. Gaines have worked hard to return from injury to be in the lineup on Sunday against the Saints. Clay and Gaines have participated in practice all week, but both have been limited. That's why both are listed as questionable for Sunday's game.
The odds look better for Clay at this point to be back on offense Sunday. He's now five weeks removed from a knee scope after getting injured at Cincinnati in Week 5. Meanwhile Gaines is only two weeks out from the time he sustained a hamstring injury against Oakland in Week 8.
Head coach Sean McDermott was talking like he expects to have Clay in the lineup this weekend following Thursday's practice.
"The biggest thing is going to be first week back, how he transitions from (Wednesday) to (Thursday), which I thought was good and then into (Friday)," McDermott said of Clay. "Then going into the game."
With respect to Gaines, it appears he has a chance to be active for Sunday's game. Whether he starts or is simply available in an emergency seems to be among the decisions to be made heading into the weekend.
Glenn and Jones out for Saints gameCordy Glenn and Zay Jones were unable to get on the practice field in any capacity this week, so both were declared out by head coach Sean McDermott Friday.
Glenn had been doing well making three consecutive starts before his nagging foot and ankle issues resurfaced on the heels of the Thursday night game against the Jets.
"Over the weekend a little bit is when it showed up. That's where it first came up," said McDermott of Glenn's foot soreness.
According to McDermott, Glenn's time on the field is almost equal to that of rookie OT Dion Dawkins, who will make his fourth start of the season in place of Glenn.
"Really to this point he's played just about 50 percent of the snaps and I think Cordy played 51 percent give or take," McDermott said. "Sunday's game will not be anything new for him as far as that goes."
As for Glenn's future, though he has performed well on the field, his availability has been a problem for the offensive line's cohesiveness this season. He also carries the highest cap figure on the team and McDermott places a priority on week to week availability.
When asked if Glenn being in and out of the lineup will affect his long-term future with the club, McDermott chose to only focus on the team's immediate goal concerning Glenn.
"We want to get Cordy back on the field," he said. "That's the first priority. We're working hard and he's working hard to do that. So at this point we've got to control what we can control and the same thing for Cordy."
Henderson questionable, but could be swing tackleSeantrel Henderson picked a poor time to tweak his back. Not that an injury is ever timely, but the offensive tackle just aggravated his back Friday morning and won't practice with the team today.
That's unfortunate knowing Glenn is out on Sunday. With Dawkins set to start at left tackle it gives Henderson the opportunity to serve as the team's swing tackle should Dawkins or Jordan Mills succumb to injury on Sunday.
That's McDermott's hope anyway.
"We are (hoping Henderson can be the swing tackle)," McDermott said. "We are. If not, then we'll have a plan ready to go. We'll just take it one day at a time with that."
If Henderson is unable to serve as the swing tackle on Sunday, the other options are OT Conor McDermott and OL Ryan Groy.
