A really sultry morning left a few Saints player struggling in the heat and humidity in New Orleans during practice Tuesday.
WR Courtney Roby exited with cramps. LB Curtis Lofton headed inside for unspecified reasons but was not walking with a limp. RB Pierre Thomas missed some sessions, too, and looked a little woozy before returning.
Interim coach Joe Vitt played down the effects of the weather.
“There weren’t a lot of players,” he said. “Out of 90, what’s that percentage, so it’s not a high percentage of players going inside.”
DE Junior Galette said the intense heat would help the Saints, who spent four days in New England last week practicing against the Patriots.
“It's definitely not Boston,” he said. “It gives you a reality check and lets you know how much shape you're in. It gives you an edge over the northern teams that are out there in 65-degree weather. It's a grind, but it's helpful. Once we get on the field, we feel like we're flying around.”
Jimmy Graham returns: TE Jimmy Graham participated in all individual drills and some team drills, including goal-line work, a day after Vitt hinted he would be held out of Friday’s preseason home game against Jacksonville.
Vitt liked what he saw and said Graham might play Friday.
“We had him down as limited, but he took all the reps,” Vitt said. “His movement skills were good out there coming in and out of breaks, and he did pretty good at the goal-line stuff.”
Injury update: Missing the workout were RB Darren Sproles (knee, second day out), WR Nick Toon (foot), WR Adrian Arrington (unspecified knee surgery), DE Turk McBride (ankle), DT Tom Johnson (ankle), CB Jabari Greer (sports hernia surgery, CB Kamaal McIlwain (groin) and LB Aaron Tevis (knee).
Vitt said he was encouraged after seeing Arrington, who had his surgery on Monday.
“He came back yesterday,” Vitt said. “He looks good. The surgery has been deemed successful. He really is walking without a limp. Hopefully, (Arrington will return) sooner [rather] than later. We’ll see how his progress goes.”
Interceptions parade: A year after making only nine interceptions, the Saints have stressed ball awareness under new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
Tuesday, FS Malcolm Jenkins picked off Drew Brees for the second consecutive practice. He also had an INT in the Hall of Fame Game against Arizona. Last year Jenkins had no INTs.
LB Jonathan Casillas made a leaping, one-handed stab of a Brees pass intended for TE David Thomas over the middle.
“We’ve seen (more interceptions) the last two days,” Vitt said. “That’s what we hope for in the games. The variety of coverages that Spags has brought to our defense with the pressure makes the quarterbacks more hesitant with their throws.”
Follow Saints reporter Guerry Smith on twitter@CBSSportsNFLNO.