SmashMouth

With his joints worn down by 15 NFL seasons, New Orleans Saints cornerback Champ Bailey said the phrase "100 percent" is no longer in his vocabulary.

But that makes him no different than most players in an NFL locker room, he said.

"If one thing hurts, something else is probably going to hurt after that feels better," Bailey said. "That's just how it is. We roll with it. I feel good tonight, that's all I know."

Bailey and safety Jairus Byrd, two veteran free agents signed by the Saints to stabilize their secondary, made their debuts Saturday night in a 23-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Byrd had been limited in practice until recently after undergoing back surgery this summer. Bailey missed time in camp with an apparent ankle or foot injury. He returned to practice Aug. 12 but didn't play until Saturday.

Byrd started and worked with the first unit, while Bailey entered as a second-team cornerback.

Cornerbacks Keenan Lewis and Patrick Robinson, who have also missed practice time with injuries, also played Saturday.

"Now is the time we need everybody out there to work on the communication and things like that to make sure we're hitting the season full stride and making sure we're on the same page," said Byrd.

Saints coach Sean Payton said he was pleased to get the veterans in for the third preseason game. Starters generally play sparingly in Week 4 of the preseason.

"(Byrd) has really good instincts and he has good speed, and so when you put a first step with that, he finds himself around the play a lot," Payton said.

Bailey said he would defer to Payton on how much he would play next week, but he felt comfortable about his stint in Indianapolis.

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