Saints WR Nick Toon Suffers Setback In His 2015 “Comeback” Campaign
New Orleans Saints wide receiver Nick Toon can’t seem to catch a break as he attempts to cement his place on the roster for the 2015 season.
According to a report from Fox Sports, Toon suffered a high ankle sprain in Saturday’s matchup against the New England Patriots and is expected to miss 2-3 weeks.
The report says Toon suffered the injury early during the third quarter and NOLA.com’s Evan Woodbery noticed he was on the trainer’s table before disappearing from the sideline.
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This is bad news for Toon in so many ways since he’s trying to prove that he belongs on the roster and that the team didn’t waste a draft pick on him.
Toon has struggled to stay healthy since being taken in the fourth round with the 122nd pick in the 2012 NFL Draft and was placed on injured reserve his rookie season.
In 2013 he barely made an impact playing in just eight games and had four receptions for a total of 68 yards.
Nov 3, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Nick Toon (88) is unable to catch a pass after getting past New York Jets cornerback Dee Milliner (27) in the first half during the game at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
Dropped passes in critical situations seemed to be words associated with Toon and a game against the New York Jets that year only validated that notion.
Toon would have a great camp in 2014, which wouldn’t translate too much to the field, and played in eight games that season catching 17 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown.
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Entering his final year this season the expectation was that Toon would finally become more consistent and put up a hard battle for a spot in a crowded receiver group.
But even training camp hasn’t been kind to him and he has good days followed by really bad days.
So far in preseason Toon played 22 snaps against the Baltimore Ravens and had one reception for nine yards.
Against the Patriots he played in only six snaps and had one reception for a mere two yards just prior to the injury.
Even if Toon can return in two weeks that would still put it around the second week of September which means he would miss the rest of the preseason with the Saints traveling to face the Green Bay Packers on September 3rd.
Aug 3, 2015; White Sulphur Springs, WV, USA; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Willie Snead (83) jogs to his position during training camp at The Greenbrier. Mandatory Credit: Michael Shroyer-USA TODAY Sports
Players like Willie Snead are gaining ground, and reps, as the preseason goes by with Snead getting positive grades following the past two games.
After that it’s a tight race to fill the #1 and #2 spots at wide receiver that are currently taken by Marques Colston and Brandin Cooks.
Fellow receiver Brandon Coleman is said to be the favorite to grab the #3 spot but as I said in a previous article, I’m not sold just yet.
It’s another disappointing setback in Toon’s career where it was actually thought at one time that the 6-4, 218 pound big bodied receiver could possibly take over for Colston one day………………
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