Saints-Packers game officially moved to neutral site

The Green Bay Packers are set to kick off their 2021 season against the New Orleans Saints, but the game won’t be at the Superdome as scheduled. 

On Wednesday, the NFL announced the teams will square off in Jacksonville at TIAA Bank Field due to the damage in the New Orleans area from Hurricane Ida.

“The decision to move the game to Jacksonville provides the city of New Orleans the greatest ability to continue storm clean up procedures and allow the city’s infrastructure to recover and allow all resources to be directed towards the expedient recovery possible,” a statement said. 

ASM International manages the Superdome and TIAA Bank Field. 

The game will begin at 3:25 p.m. CT on Sept. 12, which was its original time slot. The Jaguars play at Houston that day.

Winston to lead Saints

After a strong performance in the Saints’ second preseason game against Jacksonville two weeks ago, Winston solidified speculation that he would be the starter in New Orleans. However, it took a few days for Saints head coach Sean Payton to publicly commit to the former No. 1 overall draft pick.

Last Friday, Payton announced Winston was their guy.

Winston has had an inconsistent NFL career. He started for Tampa Bay for five years, and in 2019, he threw for 5,109 yards and 33 touchdowns, but his league-high 30 interceptions caused the Buccaneers to release the former Florida State quarterback.

Second-string quarterback Taysom Hill will return to one of his many positions while he backs up Winston. The quarterback can also line up at running back, wide receiver and tight end.

The Saints drafted Notre Dame’s Ian Book in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, and Book made the Saints’ 53-man roster Tuesday.

Other Louisiana teams impacted by storm

The Saints are not the only Bayou-State teams that have had to change plans because of Ida. LSU and Tulane have moved locations ahead of their Week 1 openers this weekend.

The Tigers relocated to Houston last weekend before they fly to Pasadena tomorrow for a Saturday night showdown with UCLA. 

The Oklahoma-Tulane game, which was scheduled to take place on the Tulane campus on Saturday, has been moved to Norman. The Sooners extended a heartwarming gesture when they announced the game would still be considered a home game for the Green Wave, so Tulane will receive the ticket proceeds from Saturday’s contest.