New Orleans Saints cornerback Tracy Porter appears to be in the clear after suffering a neck injury on the second play from scrimmage in Sunday's win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
"He's in the training room now, all the tests came back negative," Saints coach Sean Payton said Monday. "Basically he's dealing with some chest and upper back soreness from the collision. But all the news with his injury is positive, so that's encouraging."
Payton did not discuss Porter's availability for this weekend's tilt against the Atlanta Falcons.
Porter collided with Bucs wideout Mike Williams on a first-quarter pass breakup in which both players went down but Porter appeared to take the worst of the hit. Porter initially rose to a knee but was kept down on the field by team medical personnel and later was immobilized on a backboard and loaded on a cart to be taken off the field as a precaution.
Porter was hospitalized, and Payton told reporters after the game that information regarding Porter's status was "good news." Porter similarly was upbeat on his Twitter account.
"This is why I love the #WhoDatNation," he wrote. "We are one big family. I'm doing good u guys, I look forward to being back soon. I love u guys."
