New Orleans Saints breakout rookie dealing with an injury he sustained before game vs. 49ers even began

The New Orleans Saints received some tough news before kickoff in their second preseason game. Ahead of their eventual loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Saints UDFA rookie tight end Dallin Holker had to leave warmups. He did not play in the game.

Saints rookie TE Dallin Holker dealing with injury

Holker has a sprained ankle, according to head coach Dennis Allen. The severity of his sprain is not known yet.

Holker has been a young standout so far this offseason for New Orleans.

He's found nice chemistry with Derek Carr, and he's impressed their coaching staff on multiple occasions. Holker was widely expected to get drafted sometime on day three of the 2024 NFL Draft, but somehow, the Saints got him after the selection process ended.

Holker was their highest-paid UDFA signing of 2024. He's proven to be worth that so far.

"We view him as our as our eighth-round draft choice. And we view that highly. That a guy that probably should have been drafted by everyone's measure throughout the league, for some reason fell to us. And we're very fortunate to have him we're very excited to work with him." -- Clancy Barone, Saints TEs Coach via Ross Jackson

The rookie tight end is vying for a depth role at the position for the Saints offense. I project that he will lock up a 53-man roster spot to begin the regular season - as long as his injury does not keep him out of non-exhibition game action.

The extent of the tight end's injury is unknown as of now. Expect to get updates on Holker's status this week.

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