Preseason injuries helped Saints have room for long-term linebackers

Demario Davis and Pete Werner missed the entire preseason with injuries. You never want to see players injured, but their absence had a silver lining: other linebackers got a chance to step up.

Willie Gay Jr. and Anfernee Orji both had good showings in the preseason. Let’s separate the two because they started camp in two different locations and had two different advantages in the preseason.

Gay seemed like he was going to fight Werner for training camp, but Werner’s extension put that assumption into question. Add in the fact that Werner missed most of training camp but didn’t lose his job, and you see that Gay is probably still destined to be the strong team’s defenseman.

Gay made the most of his preseason by playing a large number of snaps in the first two games. Getting that number of reps allowed him to quickly get comfortable with a new system. As a player who will play in Week 1, that was huge for him.

Orji was battling for a roster spot and has emerged as a key piece thanks to an energetic preseason. Orji has gone from a player who could end up on the practice squad again to a young linebacker to be excited about. He’s even gotten some reps against opposing starters who played in the preseason.

No one is ever happy to see an injury happen. Gay’s quick acclimatization and Orji’s major development, however, have been two positives from this situation.

This article was originally published on Saints Wire: Preseason injuries helped Saints linebackers in the long run