Saints center Will Clapp done for season in crushing injury blow

Saints center Will Clapp’s season is over before it even started. 

The Saints put Clapp, 29, on injured reserve Tuesday afternoon, with what NFL Network reported is a Lisfranc injury that occurred during the team’s preseason opener on Sunday when he was carted off the field.

The move ended his year before he could suit up in the regular season and prevented what would have been a feel-good story for the franchise, with Clapp being a New Orleans native, an LSU alum and a seventh-round pick by the Saints in 2018. 

Players who are placed on IR during the preseason are not eligible to return. 

Clapp spent his first four seasons in the NFL with the Saints, appearing in 34 games — seven of which were starts — during that span. 

He spent two seasons with the Chargers and was a member of the Bills in 2024 before re-signing with New Orleans in March. 

“I remember I was just chilling at the house one day, playing on the ground with my son, and my agent called me. The Saints were talking about getting a contract done, and I was just so excited,” Clapp said in a video posted by the Saints back in March. “I couldn’t believe it was probably going to come together, and from that moment on, I was just pretty focused. I was like, ‘Hey, let’s just get this done. I don’t want to entertain anything else right now.’”

With starting center Erik McCoy dealing with injuries, Torricelli Simpkins will likely be the next man up at the position.