DT Austin Johnson passes physical, remains on PUP list

Today marks the first of two joint practices with the Saints ahead of their preseason exhibition on Sunday. The day brought along some good news on the injury front as The Athletic’s Daniel Popper reported that defensive tackle Austin Johnson has officially passed his physical. However, for now, he remains on the physically unable to perform list. For good measure, Johnson was seen going through warmups alongside his teammates with his helmet and pads with him.

Johnson suffered a fractured knee and MCL injury in the team’s week eight matchup against the Falcons on November 7th. The team has been slow to bring him along in training camp but today’s news is certainly a big step in the right direction. Johnson wasn’t expected to play at all during the preseason even if he was healthy, but it’s probably a safe bet he’ll do close to the bare minimum to get him into game shape as soon as possible.

If that means he can still be ready for week one, then even better.