The New Orleans Saints may have to play this weekend without Jameis Winston.
For the second day in a row, Winston was not present during the portion of practice that was open to the media. Veteran signal-caller Andy Dalton took the first-team reps during his absence.
Winston is currently dealing with back and ankle injuries. He wanted to practice on Wednesday, but apparently he was told to rest.
“They told me I wasn’t practicing. It wasn’t my choice,” Winston said, via ESPN. “I’m preparing like every week — preparing to play.”
Perhaps the Saints purposely sat him on Thursday as well.
If Winston misses this Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings, that means Dalton will get the start at quarterback.
Andrew Siciliano had a great reaction to this possibility, tweeting “Royal Dalton in London?”
It appears Saints fans would be OK with Dalton under center.
“Am I waking up at 8:30 to watch Andy Dalton play in London this weekend? Of course I am,” one fan said.
Dalton played for the Chicago Bears last season, completing 63.1 percent of his passes for 1,515 yards with eight touchdowns and nine interceptions.
The Saints would like to see better production out of Dalton this year. That is, of course, if he starts on Sunday in London.