Saints announce important update for rookies and veterans trying to make the roster

Lost in the full NFL schedule release are the games that are played first. That's right, we're talking about the preseason. There's only three of them now, but position battles can be won and lost during the exhibition games.

With nine home games and eight road games to tackle in the regular season, the New Orleans Saints will play two away games in the preseason. Two of the three will be against NFC foes.

New Orleans revealed its 3-game preseason slate Wednesday night along with the regular season schedule. Let's run through the exhibitions on tap for the Saints come August.

Week 1: TBD - Saints at Arizona Cardinals (FOX)

New Orleans kicks off their preseason action with Kyler Murray and Arizona. It'll be interesting to see just how much the starters play for the Saints. 

Last year, Derek Carr only got action in Week 1 of the preseason. Jake Haener and Jameis Winston took the QB reps for the rest of the preseason. New Orleans may play Carr a bit more in the exhibitions due to the new offensive scheme under Klint Kubiak. The first quarter of this game may be the best look at what the offense will look like in 2024. 

Week 2: August 18th at 8 P.M. ET - Saints at San Francisco 49ers (FOX)

This matchup will certainly be different from the first. Carr and the starters on offense may get some reps, but expect this game to begin the most important positional showdowns for depth players.

Rookies and recently added veterans in free agency will battle to prove their worth to the roster. The 49ers are one of the best teams in the league, and their depth will be put to the test here.

Week 3: TBD - Tennessee Titans at Saints (FOX)

This game is the penultimate for rookies to prove themselves as potential contributors in year one. 

Don't expect many, if any, starters to play more than a handful of snaps, and I would predict that Carr, Olave, Kamara, and others probably won't even dress for this one. They'll rest in preparation for Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers.

The Saints have a talented roster, but there's plenty left to shake out between training camp and the preseason.

Let's see how they navigate it to enter the regular season.