A tumultuous offseason for the New Orleans Saints has spilled over onto the practice field this week. We first learned Wednesday that Chase Daniel went down with a broken right thumb. On the heels of losing their backup quarterback, the team announced defensive end Greg Romeus injured the anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in his left knee.
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Interim coach Joe Vitt told The Times-Picayune that Romeus will be sidelined six to eight months, which likely means he'll be placed on injured reserve for the 2012 season. Vitt didn't elaborate on whether Romeus tore the knee ligaments.
"He was just running down the field and his non-surgical knee gave on him," Vitt told the newspaper. "This kid has really worked hard. The whole team feels bad for him, the coaching staff feels bad for him. It's part of the game. This kid has put in the time, he has put in the effort and he has to go through the whole process all over again. So we're going to be there for him and we're going to support him."
Romeus' early NFL career has been sidetracked by injuries. After missing chunks of his senior year at Pittsburgh, Romeus spent his 2011 rookie season with the Saints on the physically-unable-to-perform list and IR recovering from a knee injury. Romeus isn't a household name. He was battling for a roster spot at end alongside linemen Turk McBride, Junior Galette and converted linebacker Martez Wilson behind starters Cameron Jordan and Will Smith (the latter who faces a four-game suspension for his role in the team's "bounty" program).
