Sean Payton neither elaborated nor was asked about Marques Colston's upcoming status for Sunday's game during his news conference at Metairie. Later, in a conference call with the Jacksonville media, Payton offered a cryptic remark that seemed to indicate Colston would play and that was published as a clear statement that Colston would play.
"Yeah, he was listed as limited, but he's cleared," a transcript of Payton's words released by the Jaguars organization reads. "He'll be up this week."
In normal NFL parlance, "up this week" means a player presumably will be on the 46-man active roster. Players are not in that status unless they are expected to play and contribute.
Still, it is highly unusual for Payton to make a definitive pronouncement about the game status of a player popping up on the injury report, especially this early in the week. Like many in the profession, Payton is reluctant to reveal specific information about injuries.
We'll monitor Colston's practice activity this week. The Jaguars have been surprisingly tough against the pass, so he's at best a WR3/flex play. We'd like to see him on the field for his usual workload before trusting him with a start.
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