Saints draftees Miller, Saldiveri deemed unfit to practice as camp approaches

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — New Orleans Saints third-round draft choice Kendre Miller and fourth-round draft choice Nick Saldiveri are among a handful of players the club has placed on injury lists with a week left before the opening of training camp.

Miller, a running back out of TCU, has been placed on New Orleans' non-football injury list along with rookie receivers Shaq Davis and A.T. Perry, general manager Mickey Loomis said Tuesday.

Saldiveri, an offensive lineman out of Old Dominion, has joined rookie defensive back Anthony Johnson on the Saints' physically unable to perform list.

Under NFL rules, players who begin the regular season on a physically unable to perform list cannot play in their club's first four games.

The Saints' opening practice of training camp is scheduled for July 26. New Orleans opens the regular season at home against Tennessee on Sept. 10.

The 6-foot, 220-pound Miller rushed for 1,399 yards and 17 touchdowns on 242 carries for TCU last fall and was an All-Big 12 selection. Miller, if healthy, could have a chance to earn a prominent role in the backfield early this season, particularly if Saints running back Alvin Kamara receives a multi-game suspension in connection with a February 2022 fight in a Las Vegas hotel.

Kamara last week pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor in the case after initially being charged with felony battery. But the NFL does not require a felony conviction in order to suspend players in connection with the league's personal conduct policy — and the fight was caught on security video.

The 6-foot-6, 316-pound Saldiveri was New Orleans' first of two fourth-round draft choices last spring. He'll be joining a position group in which all starters are returning, but he is expected to provide depth at guard.

The Saints selected the 6-5, 205-pound Perry out of Wake Forest in the sixth round of the draft and signed the 6-5, 215-pound Davis as a rookie free agent out of South Carolina State.

Johnson, who is 6-2, 205 pounds, also signed with the Saints as a rookie free agent. He played in college for both Louisville and Virginia and was a first-team All-ACC last season with the Cavaliers.

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