GREEN BAY, Wis. — In his first two exhibition games with the Saints, linebacker Justin Anderson never got on the field, save for a handful of special-teams plays.
But Thursday night, Anderson, a second-year man from Louisiana-Lafayette, was starting against the Green Bay Packers.
Such is the norm for the final preseason tuneups around the NFL. Although folks are paying full price — and there weren’t that many empty seats in Lambeau Field — starters are far too valuable to risk when the real ones are just a week away.
That’s especially true for the Saints, whose defense seemingly is being diminished daily by injuries both known (get well, soon, Keenan Lewis!