Trevor Penning is getting closer to his NFL debut. The Saints rookie offensive lineman has been designated to return from injured reserve, according to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football (on Twitter).
The Northern Iowa product was one of the best offensive lineman prospects in the 2022 NFL Draft, and he ended up going 19th overall to the Saints. The rookie made immediate headlines during training camp when he got into fights with teammates on three consecutive days.
Then, during New Orleans’ preseason finale, Penning suffered what was thought to be a “bad case of turf toe.” However, the injury was later revealed to be a ligament tear in his injured foot. Considering the timing and severity of the injury, there was some initial fear that Penning may have to miss his entire rookie campaign. However, we heard last month that the organization was eyeing a November return. Penning appears to still be on that return timeline, and at the very latest, he’ll be back on the field by early December.
“I’m definitely counting the days,” Penning said today of his impending NFL debut (h/t to Terrin Waack of NOLA.com). “It’s been hard. Today was my first day watching walk-through in person, so that was kind of hard to see. I’m like shoot, I really want to get back out there.”
Penning was expected to replace the departed Terron Armstead in the starting lineup. James Hurst has since run away with the starting left tackle gig, and with Ryan Ramczyk entrenched at right tackle, Penning may be eyeing a backup role when he’s ready to hit the field. Ramczyk is currently nursing an injury (along with Erik McCoy and Andrus Peat), so a role could also open up sooner than later.