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UPDATE:
I hear the Saints are playing a significant number of their starters tonight vs. JAX. This will be their big preseason tuneup. Most will sit out finale vs. ARI.
— Jeff Duncan (@JeffDuncan_) August 23, 2021
The New Orleans Saints and Jacksonville Jaguars will face off in a preseason Monday Night Football matchup. Both teams have some intriguing quarterback situations to watch, as the Saints decide on who will start in Week 1 and the Jaguars pretend to decide the same thing.
Below, we will take a look at who each team is planning to play in this Week 2 tilt.
Quarterbacks
The Saints will give both Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill work as head Coach Sean Payton decides how he will divvy up the quarterback touches in the regular season. Saints longtime beat writer, ESPN’s Mike Triplett, believes the battle is close, with Winston with a narrow edge. We don’t know how long and when each will play at this point, but they’ll both get a real chance to compete.
If we were scoring this thing like a boxing fight, Jameis Winston would be slightly ahead on most scorecards through the first 3 weeks of camp. But neither he nor Taysom Hill has delivered a knockout blow -- which raises the stakes for tonight’s game.
— Mike Triplett (@MikeTriplett) August 23, 2021
https://t.co/iDWSayoux3
The Jaguars and the NFL’s No. 1 pick in the draft, Trevor Lawrence, will again get work in the second preseason game. Head coach Urban Meyer insists that Lawrence and Gardner Minshew are both in the running for the job. Who knows if he’s telling the truth, but it would be insane to start Minshew over Lawrence. Both will get work on Monday night and Lawrence will look to put some better tape up than he did Week 1.
Running Backs
We likely won’t see Alvin Kamara again while Latavius Murray and Devonta Freeman compete for the backup job. Murray is probably who they want to see win the job, but he had a poor Week 1 in preseason. He’ll look to rebound this game.
James Robinson, Travis Etienne and Carlos Hyde all got work with the first team in Week 1. We’ll see if they change their approach in Week 2 or if this backfield remains a jumbled mess.
Wide Receivers
Tre’Quan Smith returned to practice last week, but then promptly missed three straight practices. He won’t play along with Michael Thomas, who is out for a few moths. Marquez Callaway saw a lot of work last week and that should remain as the team evaluates him and the quarterbacks.
Marvin Jones was Trevor Lawrence’s favorite receiver in Week 1 of preseason and they’ll probably give those two another chance to work on their connection for a couple drives at least. Collin Johnson, Laviska Shenault Jr. and Laquon Treadwell all got snaps with the first team. D.J. Chark should remain out with a finger injury.
Tight Ends
The Jaguars tight end situation is bleak, with James O’Shaughnessy and Chris Manhertz splitting first team snaps in Week 1. We’ll probably see that again this week.
It will be interesting to see if Adam Trautman continues to split time with Nick Vannett and Juwan Johnson. Trautman is the No.1 tight end in New Orleans, but his snaps may be diluted.