The New Orleans Saints got an unwelcome update on rookie wide receiver Jordyn Tyson on Thursday, two days before the team’s preseason opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Tyson left practice early with a trainer after dealing with hamstring soreness, according to The Sporting News, citing a report from Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.Football.
“Saints WR Jordyn Tyson left practice early with trainer Thursday,” Triplett reported. “We’ve heard hamstring and hopefully minor. But ended his practice early after a strong start.”
Triplett added a note of caution without downplaying the concern entirely: he’d been told the issue “isn’t super serious but obviously less than ideal.”
The timing stings. Thursday’s session doubled as a joint practice with the Jaguars ahead of Saturday’s preseason opener at the Caesars Superdome, kicking off at 3 p.m. CT. Coach Kellen Moore has already said most Saints starters, including quarterback Tyler Shough, are expected to sit out that game, which made Thursday’s joint work Tyson’s best chance for extended reps against Jacksonville’s first-team defense before the games start counting.
A Recurring Problem for New Orleans’ First-Round Pick
This isn’t new territory for Tyson. The hamstring issue is the same one that reportedly played a role in his slide from a potential top-five selection down to the No. 8 overall pick, where the Saints took him in April. Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said the injury flared up again shortly before the draft, an update that Katherine Terrell of ESPN first reported, according to ClutchPoints.
Tyson sat out the offseason program and much of the spring while the Saints managed the injury cautiously, then opened training camp on the field and progressively increased his workload. He was fully practicing with the first-team offense earlier this month, building chemistry with Shough and pairing alongside Chris Olave as the Saints tried to give their second-year quarterback more firepower.
At Arizona State, Tyson put up 136 receptions, 1,812 yards and 18 touchdowns over four college seasons, but hamstring trouble limited him to nine games in his final year — the same injury now resurfacing in New Orleans.
What It Means for the Saints’ Receiver Room
New Orleans invested heavily in its receiver group this offseason, adding Tyson in the draft and locking up Olave to a new contract as the team builds around Shough entering his first full season as the starter. Losing Tyson for any real stretch, even in August, would blunt some of that plan before it gets tested in live games.
For now, the belief around the team is that this is a maintenance issue rather than a setback that threatens Tyson’s timeline. But given the pattern — combine, spring practices and now training camp — any hamstring news involving Tyson is going to get watched closely in Metairie for the next several days.
The Saints and Jaguars held their joint practice Thursday at the Ochsner Sports Performance Center before Saturday’s preseason opener. New Orleans opens its regular season on the road against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Sept. 13.
This story will be updated if the Saints provide further clarity on Tyson’s practice status.
