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jeanpierre

BY JOEL A. ERICKSON | JERICKSON@THEADVOCATE.COM AUG 17, 2018 - 11:15 PM

Cameron Meredith's preseason debut in a Saints uniform seemed rather forgettable.

A prize free-acquisition in the offseason, Meredith was only targeted once, failed to catch a well-placed ball and saw it intercepted after it bounded up in the air.

Meredith wasn't happy about the way he played.

But the fact that Meredith was in action at all is a good sign for the new Saints receiver, who has been in and out of practices through the first three weeks of training camp as he finishes off the final steps in his recovery from the torn ACL and torn medial collateral ligament he suffered last August.

"It felt great," Meredith said. "Just getting out there, getting in the groove of things. I still need to kind of get my wheels together, get up to the speed of the game a little bit, but it felt great to be out there again with my team and try to make some plays."

Nearly a year after the injury — Meredith was hurt on Aug. 27, 2017, in a preseason game against the Tennessee Titans — the 25-year-old receiver believes he can now return to practice at full speed and start getting back to the player who broke out with 66 catches and four touchdowns in 2016.

Meredith played the entire first half on Friday night, and his knee held up well.

"Feels good," Meredith said. "Went out there and made some cuts, got hit. That's all it really takes to get your groove back."

Meredith had missed most of the past week of practice, only returning on Wednesday, which sparked a report that he was dealing with another minor injury, unrelated to the knee.

Meredith declined to confirm that report on Friday, calling it a "slight step" and saying that he was held out of practice mostly for precautionary reasons.

After working so hard to get back in time for this season, sitting out wasn't easy. Meredith wants to go full bore in building a rapport with Saints quarterback Drew Brees — he has been seen after practices working with Brees one-on-one — but his recovery had taken some time away from him.

"Some of it's part of the plan, but at the same time, it's frustrating not being able to get the timing down with Drew and the other quarterbacks," Meredith said. "At the same time, you've got to protect yourself and make sure you're ready before you go out there."

Meredith was not happy about the drop on the first ball he was thrown as a Saint, a ball that was placed well by backup quarterback Taysom Hill.

"It went through my hands," Meredith said. "I told Taysom, that's on me. You don't do that to your quarterback. He put it in a good place, you've got to catch the ball."

Meredith can start putting a little elbow grease into scrubbing off that rust now.

If Meredith can return to his 2016 form, the Saints see him as a third-down weapon who can operate out of the slot and help fix an offense that inexplicably struggled on the game's money down last August.

Getting him on the field against the Cardinals was a good sign.

"He was ready," Saints head coach Sean Payton said. "It wasn't all good, but it was good to see him get out there."

Now, the real work can begin.

It's not that my way is the right way, I just make the right way my way...

Cruize

He may turn out to be the real deal. But, Smith is way ahead of him right now. And I would have loved to see what Kirkwood could do. Big with great hands.

dizzle88

Were his hands injured yesterday?

Looked like a business decision was made by him on the pass that got picked.

AsylumGuido

That was on Hill as much, if not more, than Meredith. First of all, he had a man wide open underneath for an easy 1st down. Secondly, he put way too much mustard on the throw. I'm not sure if he has touch. Brees would have made the ball more "catchable".

GeauxForMore

I'm actual encouraged by seeing him out there after that horrible injury he suffered. I mean its his first game back in well over a year so there is going to be rust. I'm going to hold judgement at least until week 4 or 5 of the season. By that time he had plenty of time to adjust to this offense and Brees. Besides look at the throw, I agree he should of caught it but there was no finesse on that pass. I do believe at this point Smith is well ahead and needs more touches. But from WR 1 - 5 we have some seroius playmakers.

Beastmode

He'll come around but not until later in the season. He's not getting cut but WR2 and even WR3, he's off the radar screen. He'll probably make us money when someone goes down and have a couple of stellar games. He's not going to be the WR2 that's for damn sure.

jeanpierre

Meredith has got a lot of work to do and appears he won't be running at full strength until maybe when Ingram returns...

Fortunately, we're pretty deep at WR and we now have a running game and a complementary defense to boot...

Rugby Saint II

I hope we never have to see Coleman back at wide receiver. This group has some potential and depth.....also we do have Curtis Johnson with his whoopin' stick to get the most out of them.

The Dude

I doubt this guy plays more than 2 games this season before landing on IR