When the New Orleans Saints kick off their first training camp practice on Wednesday, two of their teammates will be watching from the sidelines. Tight end Foster Moreau and do-it-all chess piece Taysom Hill were each placed on the physically unable to perform list (PUP) on Tuesday, per Saints general manager Mickey Loomis. While both guys are trending in the right direction after suffering knee injuries last season, neither of them were cleared in time for the first day of practice.

This was expected. Moreau hurt his knee in the last game of the season. Hill tore his ACL midway through 2024. Loomis wouldn’t put any time table in place, but he said everything has been positive for Hill so far, and he expects him to play in 2025. We’ll just have to wait and see when he’s available.

As for Moreau? He’s been active all offseason, helping rookie quarterback Tyler Shough with throwing drills at Tulane’s Yulman Stadium and attending minicamps and OTAs at the team practice facility as a spectator. Moore praised him as exactly the type of veteran presence they want in the locker room: “He is everything we want in our program. I think he’s a great example, he can’t do much of anything from a physical standpoint, (but) he’s in every meeting, he’s out there every day. He’s leading the group. He’s got a voice, and you hear it, during 7-on-7 periods, chewing and yelling at people left and right.”

It’ll just have to be a minute before Moreau and Hill make their presence felt on the practice field, wearing helmets and shoulder pads like their teammates. It remains to be seen what kind of role Moore envisions for each of them in his offense but it’s good to hear he’s excited for both of them to dig into the playbook.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Taysom Hill, Foster Moreau start Saints training camp on the PUP list