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Warren Continues Rehab with New Orleans Saints
Published: June 19, 2009
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One of the most promising performances of receiver Paris Warren’s young career ended with a gruesome injury that has clouded his future in pro football ever since.
As Warren carried a tackler across the goal line for his second touchdown of Tampa Bay’s final preseason game of 2007, it appeared his spot on the Buccaneers’ regular season roster was assured; he had seven catches for 110 yards that night.
Moments later, Warren was sitting in the end zone calling for trainers and pointing at his foot, which was twisted unnaturally so his toes almost pointed behind him.
Warren wound up missing all of the 2007 regular season with torn ligaments and a dislocated ankle, then attempted a comeback last summer with Tampa Bay, which had drafted him out of Utah in the seventh round in 2005. Warren was released before the final preseason game of 2008 and went a second-straight season without playing in a regular season game.
Now he’s getting another chance in New Orleans.
“It’s an interesting story,” quarterback Drew Brees said after the Saints’ final voluntary practice of the offseason on Thursday. “That makes me root for him.”
On one hand, New Orleans seems like the last place Warren would want to try to resurrect his career. The Saints already are deep at wide receiver, with Marques Colston, Lance Moore, and Devery Henderson the likely starters.
Still, the Saints throw the ball all over the field, which could give Warren a shot to put together a solid new resume tape.
Head Coach Sean Payton “likes to throw the ball, and for a receiver you can’t ask for anything else,” Warren said. “All you’ve got to do is come out and work, find a way to get open and these quarterbacks will get you the ball.”
“The main thing is you want to go out, give your best effort, put yourself on tape and if it doesn’t work out here, hopefully somebody else will take notice,” Warren said.
Brees said Warren “catches the ball pretty well—a really natural, pretty smooth route runner and seems to be picking things up.”
After starring at Utah in 2003 and 2004, Warren spent most of 2005 on Tampa Bay’s practice squad.
In 2006, he played in eight games, making five catches for 63 yards. In 2007, he led the Bucs in receiving with 15 catches for 191 yards and four touchdowns through four exhibition games—but his injury put a sudden end to that.
“I was lying on my stomach and it felt like somebody was squeezing my leg,” Warren recalled. “I told myself, ‘Just turn over,’ because I already knew something was wrong, and once I turned over, I looked and I pointed to it and pointed at the trainer and said, ‘Let’s get me off the field.”
The Saints signed Warren to a free-agent contract in May. Warren said he also had talks with Oakland, Houston, Dallas, and St. Louis, but asked his agent to push for New Orleans.
Payton said Warren will need to demonstrate versatility at the receiving spots and on special teams.
“There’s a couple guys like him. They’re all competing for special teams snaps,” Payton said. “How they do in those other aspects is going to be important.”
Other receivers on the preseason roster include 2007 first-round draft pick Robert Meachem, 2008 seventh-rounder Adrian Arrington, who impressed coaches before missing last season with a broken foot, Courtney Roby, who emerged as the Saints’ primary kick returner last season, and former LSU standout Skyler Green, who also works as a returner.
NFL clubs generally keep five or six receivers during the regular season.
Warren, known at Tampa Bay for his ability to play in the slot or out wide, exudes no shortage of confidence in his ability.
“They really don’t know about my game,” Warren said of the Saints’ coaching staff, “but they’ll see when preseason comes what I bring to the table. I’m not one to brag, but I do a little bit of everything.”
Drew Brees Honored for Charity Work in Cresent City
Published: June 16, 2009
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When Drew Brees signed with the New Orleans Saints as a free agent, he knew he had to provide the promise of hope to the hurricane-ravaged city.
But more importantly, he wanted to actually deliver it.
Just telling children in New Orleans that he wanted to help raise money to overhaul schools, parks, and athletic fields wouldn’t do. He wanted to make sure “Operation Kids: Rebuilding Dreams” became a reality.
“To put yourself on the line and say you’re going to raise $1.8 million, that’s kind of a gutsy deal especially when, I think, there had been a lot of broken promises down there,” Brees said Monday night before the Henry P. Iba Citizen Athlete Awards.
“We wanted to make sure that people knew that we were accountable to what we said we were going to do, we would follow through with it, and we were able to do that.”
Brees was the male honoree at the annual ceremony that recognizes athletes for being good citizens and helping others. Former Olympic weightlifter Melanie Roach, an advocate for autism research, was the female honoree.
Brees was chosen for his work with his “Brees Dream Foundation,” which started out as a way to raise funds for children’s cancer research. When Brees signed with the Saints months after Hurricane Katrina hit the city in 2005, he found a new cause that needed his aid—but still keeping with the mission of his foundation, which has “always been about kids.”
“In seven years, we’ve been able to either raise or commit $4.5 million. It’s been tough,” Brees said. “It’s been tough at times, especially in this economy. To raise money, you continue to have to find creative ways to do it.”
“It’s challenging, but then when it’s all said and done you see the result of it all and you see the impact that it makes and it makes it all worth it.”
Brees talked about an edible schoolyard that was built at a charter school in New Orleans, where children grow food in a garden that is later used for their meals. The idea is to foster learning of both gardening and culinary skills.
The project was a part of the “Operation Kids” program that recently reached its fund-raising goal for its first phase. Brees said he’s working to identify more schools and parks to that need help during a planned second phase.
“I think that there’s a sense of pride about the city and this passion for just living,” Brees said. “That’s one thing I can say about the people of New Orleans: There’s a passion for living and it’s infectious.”
Brees recalled attending a football camp hosted by Warren Moon and a basketball camp with Avery Johnson when he was growing up in Texas, and figured he had to do his part when he became a high-profile athlete.
“I can remember specifically all these camps and these guys and what they said. When I got to college and was a college athlete and then into the NFL, I realized if these kids are looking up to me as much as I looked up to professional athletes when I was a kid, I understand the importance of being a good role model and giving back to the community,” Brees said.
Roach got involved after her son, Drew, was diagnosed with autism at age two, as she was working to overcome a serious back injury that kept her out of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.
“It was kind of a steep learning curve. It was a rough year and there was truly a mourning process when my child was diagnosed with autism,” Roach said.
“For me, I really didn’t know where to turn and there wasn’t a lot available at the time.”
Since then, she has worked with Athletes Against Autism, hoping to raise awareness of the disorder and try to find a cure. She has also been advocating for insurance coverage of autism treatment, a hot issue in the Oklahoma Legislature this past year. Gov. Brad Henry’s call for an autism mandate and proposals for the coverage by legislators were defeated in the Republican-controlled Legislature.
“Every chance that I get to talk to youth, I tell them to find their talents that they can use to help impact the lives of others, and that’s what your blessing is,” Roach said.
“To receive an award for my work with autism, I would do it no matter what. It’s just such an honor.”
New Orleans Center’s Career Ends Before It Begins
Published: June 16, 2009
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Rookie center Alex Fletcher’s career with the New Orleans Saints apparently ended before it ever really got started. The Saints placed Fletcher, an undrafted free agent from Stanford, on the reserve/retired list because of a serious kidney condition, coach Sean Payton said Monday.
Payton said that after an offseason workout Friday, Fletcher told the organization that he would have to retire.
“Alex has a medical issue and unfortunately for him he can’t continue to play,” Payton said Monday after the team’s Organized Team Activity. “I’d rather not go into the specifics, but its pretty serious.
“He has one kidney and the one kidney he has needs some work. That becomes an immediate stop to playing football. I think he’s going to be done playing football.”
Fletcher, 6-3, 296 pounds, started all 44 games that he played in college.
New Orleans now finds itself short-handed at center as Nick Lackey, the only other backup to starter Jonathan Goodwin, underwent surgery to remove bone spurs from his right ankle. Lackey is expected to be able to practice when training camp begins July 30.
The Saints added depth at center by signing free agent Digger Bujnoch on Monday.
Bujnoch, 6-3, 296, was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2008 and released last September. He was signed to the Bengals’ practice squad last November and released last month.
Wide receiver Marques Colston missed the Saints’ voluntary workout Monday, but was expected to return for Tuesday’s practice, Payton said.
Wide receiver Robert Meachem was held out of team drills because of a slightly strained left hamstring sustained last week. Meanwhile, wide receiver Adrian Arrington (hamstring), defensive end Paul Spicer (groin), and tight end Dan Campbell (knee) remained sidelined. Cornerback Randall Gay, who had been sidelined by a sore knee, returned to practice.
The Saints have three more OTAs scheduled through Thursday. After that the players will be off until reporting for training camp.
