Saints veteran seemingly reveals that he will return from injury for Week 4 game vs. Falcons

The New Orleans Saints are getting ready for their second divisional showdown of the 2024 regular season. They'll face the rival Atlanta Falcons. New Orleans and Atlanta both lost close games to talented teams in Week 3.

A key defensive player is seemingly going to be back on the gridiron for the black and gold against the Falcons, too.

Saints' Khalen Saunders teases return on social media

Saunders says he's "back from the dead" in post on X/Twitter. He also includes the phrase "Rise up" - known for being the mantra for the Falcons.

We will see if the defensive lineman gets back on the field this Sunday. He has not played so far this season due to a calf injury. He was expected to miss 2-3 regular season games, so a return in Week 4 makes plenty of sense for the vet.

Saunders started all 17 games for the Saints in 2023. He totaled 57 total tackles with one tackle for loss. His value came mostly in run defense, a spot where New Orleans could use some help at the moment.

He also played some fullback in goal-to-go spots for New Orleans last year. Don't be shocked if he has that role for Klint Kubiak this year, too. He's not afraid to show some unique looks on offense.

Saunders played 47% of defensive snaps for the black and gold last season. With his return, we could see Bryan Bresee's snap count go down - to a degree. He's started all three games for the Saints so far.

Bresee has been arguably the best pass rusher not named Carl Granderson for the Saints this season, though.

Expect Saunders to get early down work, but New Orleans cannot take Bresee off the field in passing situations for their defense. He's simply shown too much growth there.

All in all, the Saints' DL depth takes a step forward with Saunders' potential return.

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