Winston gets day off in London to rest injuries

• Covered the NFL since 2013
• Previously covered the Saints for the Times-Picayune and The Athletic
• Bengals beat writer for ESPN from 2016-19

New Orleans Saints coach Dennis Allen said he doesn’t think there’s a concern regarding quarterback Jameis Winston’s availability for Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings in London.

Allen said Winston got a rest day Wednesday and anticipates he’ll practice Thursday after the Saints’ starting quarterback was not seen by reporters during the open portion of practice at the London Irish facility.

“Really it’s more just trying to rest and trying to make sure it’s healthy,” Allen told reporters after practice.

That was a change from last week, when Winston watched the open portion of Wednesday’s practice at the Saints’ facility in Metairie but did not participate. He is dealing with a transverse fracture in his back in addition to an ankle injury and has been listed as limited on the injury report since Week 2.

Backup quarterback Andy Dalton took the snaps in Winston’s place like he did in the preseason when Winston had a foot sprain.

Taysom Hill, who switched to tight end this season after primarily playing quarterback last season, was taking the backup snaps. Allen said there has been a plan since the preseason to get him snaps at quarterback in practice, but injuries changed that. Hill did not practice last week with a rib injury.

“Not really,” Allen said, when asked whether it was related to Winston’s injury. “Again, that was part of the plan from the beginning, and certainly he had some injuries in training camp that kind of limited the amount we were able to move him back and forth between rooms.”

Wide receiver Michael Thomas was not seen by reporters at practice after leaving Sunday’s game with what Allen described as a toe injury, while Jarvis Landry, who also left the game early with an injury, was seen working off to the side during practice.

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