Good morning, and welcome to the Saints Insider newsletter for Thursday, Aug. 4. Well, Wednesday was a wild and wacky one at Saints training camp. The big news was the return of Tyrann Mathieu. The former LSU and St. Augustine High School standout rejoined the Saints after being excused by the team to tend to a personal matter. Mathieu, who was dubbed the Honey Badger during his All-American days at LSU, is one of the most popular players in Louisiana football history, and when news of his return broke on NOLA.com Wednesday morning, it immediately became a trending topic across social media. Columnist Rod Walker says in his column that Mathieu's return is huge for the Saints and hopefully will end the rampant "paraNOLA" among Saints fans and Internet detectives. Photographer Brett Duke was there to chronicle Mathieu's first practice of camp, and recorded video of head coach Dennis Allen's comments about his star safety's return. Duke's photo gallery captured Mathieu's every move. Meanwhile, there was a lot to take away from Wednesday’s practice, including a return to competitive football for a star receiver and yet another camp scuffle involving rookie Trevor Penning, this one resulting in his ejection. Beat reporter Luke Johnson has it all in his observations from Day 7 on training camp. And finally, I turned my attention to this weekend's enshrinement ceremony for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2023, and weighed in on what linebacker Sam Mills' induction means for the Saints franchise and future Hall of Fame candidates from the club. Be sure to check out NOLA.com throughout the week for our wall-to-wall training camp coverage. And as always, thanks for your loyal support and readership. Until next time, Jeff Duncan |