Erik McCoy didn’t dress up the Saints’ injury problems with a polished answer or a long explanation. He kept it short, direct, and very much to the point: “S*** happens.”
That was McCoy’s blunt response when he was asked about New Orleans’ injury issues over the past two seasons, and it says plenty about where the Saints are trying to move as they head into 2026. There’s no room for excuses in that message. Just the reality of what the team has dealt with, and the expectation that the next step is finding a way through it.
McCoy remains the kind of player who gives the Saints a steady voice in the middle of the offense. As the Pro Bowl center, he continues to serve as one of the most important leaders on the roster, and his value only grows when the conversation turns to the offensive line. A healthy front matters for everything New Orleans wants to do, especially with Tyler Shough, Travis Etienne, Alvin Kamara, and Kellen Moore’s offense all tied to how well that unit holds up.
The Saints have already lived through enough injury trouble to know how quickly things can go sideways. McCoy’s answer didn’t try to soften that. Instead, it reflected a team mindset that seems focused on moving forward rather than dwelling on what went wrong.
For New Orleans, the big question now is whether the offensive line can stay on the field. If it can, the ripple effect could be huge for the rest of the offense. If it can’t, the Saints are likely to keep running into the same problems that have defined too much of the last two seasons.
In Other News...
Falcons Suddenly Have A Kaden Elliss Problem Saints Fans Know Well
Kaden Elliss move back to New Orleans has left the Falcons with a familiar kind of linebacker headache, and it is one Saints fans know well from the other side of the rivalry. Atlanta signed Elliss to a three-year contract, then quickly found itself sorting through a group that has talent but not a clean one-for-one answer at inside linebacker.
Christian Harris is the early favorite to line up next to Divine Deablo, but Jeff Ulbrich has made it clear this is not a simple plug-and-play fix. Troy Andersen remains in the mix when healthy, Kendal Daniels is still working through an injury, and Harold Perkins Jr. and Jalon Walker are among the other names that could help, which is why the Falcons seem headed toward a committee approach rather than a single replacement. [Read more 🡒]
Saints May Finally Have Their Answer At Cornerback
Kool-Aid McKinstry is entering the kind of season that can change the way a defense is viewed, and for the Saints, the timing could hardly be better. The 2024 second-round pick has already logged two seasons of uneven work in pass coverage, but his experience, draft pedigree and steady increase in responsibility have put him squarely in the conversation as a possible breakout player for 2026.
New Orleans has also cleared the runway for him to take on a much larger role at cornerback, which only raises the pressure on a player the team has been waiting to see grow into the job. If McKinstry can turn that opportunity into the kind of leap the Saints are hoping for, it would go a long way toward settling one of the defenses biggest questions heading into the new season. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Fans Will Be Watching This Rookie Closely In Camp
Keeshawn Silver is one of the more intriguing undrafted additions in the Saints defensive tackle room heading into camp. The 2026 signee has already taken a winding college path, starting at North Carolina before moving on to Kentucky and then USC, and he arrives in New Orleans with the kind of background that suggests there is still room for development if the fit is right.
What makes Silver worth tracking in the preseason is the simple reality of how crowded the fight for a spot can get at this stage of the roster build. He logged 43 games across his last two schools and flashed enough to stay on the radar, but now the challenge is translating that experience into a strong camp and proving he belongs in the mix when the Saints start sorting through their undrafted rookies. [Read more 🡒]