After a return to the practice field Wednesday, Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey missed Thursday's session. Receiver Marques Colston practiced on a limited basis for the second consecutive day, prolonging the hope he could be back on the playing field as soon as Sunday.
"We saw Marques practice today, so in his case, again, I was encouraged, " Saints Coach Sean Payton said. "With Jeremy, I've just got to see where he's at tomorrow and see how the second day after his first day of practice yesterday, see how he feels. But with Marques, again, he was out there, we were able to see him move around and function, and he did pretty well."
Colston, who is recovering from thumb surgery, was receiving treatment after Thursday's practice and was unavailable for comment. Payton said recently that a target return date for several of his injured players, including Colston and Shockey, was Oct. 19 for the game at Carolina.
"There's a splint that he'll wear that prohibits any negative movement, " Payton said Thursday about Colston. "The cast is off, and it's just getting comfortable with the speed of the game now and the flexibility with his thumb and his hand."