The New Orleans Saints, their support staff, and their families have relocated to Dallas in the wake of Hurricane Ida, with the team expecting to kick off practice soon from the Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium. They’ll remain in the area to train at that venue for the next three days before evaluating the situation back home and planning their return.
But don’t look for them to fly back to New Orleans this week. “I think that’s unrealistic,” Saints coach Sean Payton said on Monday. Early reports suggest both the team’s Metairie training facility and the Caesars Superdome escaped serious damage from Ida, but the lack of power and running water in New Orleans mean it’s too soon to say when they could return home.
That ambiguity stretches towards Week 1’s matchup with the Green Bay Packers, still 13 days away. Payton declined to say what the Saints’ “Plan B” may mean for a kickoff site, though he immediately ruled out moving New Orleans’ home opener to Green Bay. Nearly two weeks is a lot of time, but it may not be enough to put the city back together and welcome 70,000-plus fans for a football game. Stay tuned for updates to this developing story.
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