Marcus Williams, Nick Easton out of practice for Saints

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The Saints were down sstarter on both sides of the ball for Wednesday’s practice.

Safety Marcus Williams, wide receiver Tre'Quan Smith and right guard Nick Easton were both out of action for the NFC South leaders. Williams hurt his ankle in last Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs and Smith hurt his ankle. Easton was out of that game with a concussion.

The Saints play Friday against the Vikings in a Christmas Day matinee, so there’s not much time for any of the players to progress before the team will have to decide on their status.

Left guard Andrus Peat (ankle) was upgraded to limited after not participating in Tuesday’s walkthrough. Defensive end Trey Hendrickson (neck), defensive tackle Malcom Brown (calf), and defensive end Carl Granderson (neck) were listed as limited for the second straight day.