Welcome back, Zach Wood. The New Orleans Saints long snapper was a full participant at practice on Wednesday, marking his return from injured reserve. He'll need to continue practicing throughout the week in order to be activated for Sunday's game with the New York Giants, but all signs point to him snapping the ball at MetLife Stadium. The Saints released fill-in long snapper Cal Adomitis and don't have another player at the position on their roster. They also left a vacancy open and waiting for Wood on the 53-man roster once he gets the green light.
He's been missed. Adomitis had some hiccups and drew an untimely penalty during Week 5's loss to the Minnesota Vikings, so getting Wood back on the field should help steady the operation. You just
hope he isn't rushing himself back too soon.
Wood, 33, won the job back in 2017 and was the long snapper for New Orleans in 150 consecutive regular season games (plus seven playoff games), finally ending his streak when a calf strain forced him out of action the last four weeks. The fear was that he would have needed even more time to recover, but he's ahead of schedule and expected to be back in the lineup. Wood has made quite a career for himself as a former rookie free agent out of SMU. He actually spent some time with the Dallas Cowboys when Kellen Moore was the backup quarterback in 2016 and part of the 2017 preseason.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: New Orleans Saints 150-game starter begins return from injured reserve
