The New Orleans Saints completed their [second session of OTAs](https://www.nola.com/tncms/asset/editorial/4bcc2691-6f4c-458d-89d4-9ab63e20ba1d/) — the acronym for the fancy way of saying “organized team activities” instead of “practice” — this week.
Teams are somewhat limited during OTAs.
No tackling. No pass rushing. No live blocking. No bump-and-run coverage.
But you probably wouldn’t have known that based on the bruises some of the Saints’ players pointed out on their bodies Thursday.
Kicker Blake Grupe showed the bruise on his leg.
Tight end Michael Jacobson pointed to a bruise on his left hip and also mentioned one on his shoulder, one on his knee and two more on his butt.
Bodies aren’t supposed to be getting bruised like this in OTAs, but when one of the organized team activities also includes a paintball outing, these are the results.
It was all in fun as first-year Saints head coach Kellen Moore took his players and staff on the paintball excursion Wednesday at NOLA Paintball in St. Rose.
For those of you who aren't familiar, paintball is a a game where players eliminate opponents by shooting them with dye-filled capsules that break upon impact. This wasn't quite like the competition the Saints will face on Sundays this fall, but it serves a purpose.
“It just helps us get closer,” said receiver Rashid Shaheed. “It allows us to get out and have fun and just be kids again. Smile and have joy and get away from football for a little while. It’s been a busy OTAs, so it’s good to have fun with the team.”
While preparing for the season and trying to win games is the most important thing, Moore understands that team bonding is a way to help with that. Oftentimes in the NFL, players in a position group on offense may have very little interaction with players in a position group on defense of special teams. Outings like this one can help with that.
“You get the camaraderie,” said tight end Juwan Johnson. “It’s something to get away from the football aspect. It’s more to football than the X’s and O’s. You also have the chemistry and have to know the guys you are working with. So I think that’s the best thing about it. People thought it was an off day, but it really wasn’t, because when you’re playing paintball, you’re out there in the heat and you’re working.”
How grueling was it?
“We had some guys who got too hot and started cramping and some guys started bailing out early,” Jacobson said.
Meanwhile, there were guys like Johnson who made the most of it.
“I kinda went out there like Rambo,” Johnson said. “I just go out and try to get who I can get. I like the 2-for-1. If I can get two people for my paintball death, I’m cool with it, because I don’t like getting hit. I really don’t.”
Johnson has played paintball before, but this was his first time the team has done it since he arrived in New Orleans in 2020.
For some players like Shaheed and cornerback Alontae Taylor, this was their first time playing paintball at all.
“A country boy from Tennessee, you would have thought I had done it a couple times,” Taylor said. “It was super exciting.”
The roster was divided into eight paintball teams. The top six teams advanced to the playoffs. Taylor, Grupe, linebacker Pete Werner and defensive end Isaiah Foskey were among the players on the team that won the competition. But this wasn’t really about who won. It was about who all was playing.
“In my experience in team-building stuff, it doesn’t necessarily matter what it is, as long as you get the guys together and get a little competitive out there,” Grupe said. “You get to see guys in a different environment instead of just in the locker room and on the practice field.”
One day after Wednesday’s paintball excursion, the Saints returned to the practice field for OTAs. But more off-the-field “organized team activities” are on the way.
“Next week we have a community service event to do,” Taylor said. “I’m super excited about the community service event that coach Moore and the staff and the organization are putting in for us to go out there and help the community and build that team camaraderie.”
And maybe this time, there won't be any bruises to show for it.