The New Orleans Saints wrapped up their work week for preparation of Sunday's game at Baltimore with a two hour practice at the club's indoor facility. Following the practice, Payton gave a final injury report, discussed the kickoff return rotation and also talked about the status of rookie RB Chris Ivory.

Opening Statement:

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"We'll hit the injury report first: Tracy Porter (shoulder) was full and is probable; Zach Strief (knee) was full and probable; Malcolm Jenkins (rib) was full, probable; Jeremy Shockey (groin) was full, probable; Remi Ayodele (ankle) was limited and he's probable; Jonathan Vilma (quad) was limited and probable; Jermon Bushrod (ankle) was limited and he's probable; Chris Ivory (hamstring) did not practice and he's questionable; Courtney Roby (head) did not practice, he's out; David Thomas (knee) did not practice, he's out; Anthony Hargrove (knee) was limited and he's questionable."

Have you made a decision on kick returners with Roby being out?

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"You're going to see Pierre (Thomas) and (Robert) Meachem as the primary guys that we'll put in and go from there."

Do you anticipate Chris Ivory being a game-time decision?

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"Yes, I do."

What is David Thomas' injury?

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"He has a lateral meniscus. We had a scope done on Tuesday. The estimate is two weeks so he's certainly out for this game and where he's at next week we'll just have to see. The procedure was relatively small, but nonetheless it was a scope that was done. It was a lateral meniscus on the right knee."

Does that mean that Tory Humphrey will be active for the game on Sunday?

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"Not necessarily but that's a possibility. There will be one of two options with regard to that spot."

The procedure that you mentioned with Chris Ivory yesterday, had you done that before?

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"It's pretty common. I think most every team…it's not unique or unusual. It's very common. It's used weekly to help speed up recovery."

Did it do what you had hoped it would do?

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"Yes. He's progressing and he's feeling better. The question is if he's ready to play a game and that's why he's listed as questionable. But it certainly helps speed the process up."

Did he do as much as you thought he might do today?

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"Today he did not practice. Like I said, he's feeling better and come game-time we'll see where he's at."

Was that what you expected going into today?

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"Yes."

How careful do you have to be with a hamstring injury like that?

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"It all gets back to the strength of the muscle and if you feel like it's strong. You don't want to hurry those things or you'll have a setback. It's that type of injury where a lot of it is just the strength come Sunday. That's the main thing."

Is it tougher to warm up a hamstring in cold weather and could that effect his availability?

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"That's a good question. I don't know if playing in colder weather hinders a player with a hamstring injury. The routine normally would be – and we've done this with a number of players – to see where he's at that morning, see how he's moving, see how the strength of the muscle is and how it's firing and then make a decision based on that."

So you will work him out before the game?

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"Yes."

Ivory said that he had had this procedure done earlier this year. Is that common?

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"A number of guys have. We've done this with double-digit players throughout the season. I made light of it and I know it became a big story, but the point is that it's something that's done often with a hamstring."

Why wouldn't you have done it earlier in the week?

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"You do it when you feel like the recovery hasn't been as quick. You're not going to do it just randomly. You do it to help speed up the recovery when you feel like it needs to be done. It's not like early in the week we said, 'He's got a hamstring, we'll go right to this.' It's fairly minor."