New Orleans Saints left tackle Trevor Penning maintains aggressive streak, has shown improvement from rookie season

'I just play my game and if they don't like it, so be it'

Aug 05, 2023 at 01:54 PM

John DeShazier

Senior Writer

From the end of last regular season – even though Trevor Penning suffered a Lisfranc injury to his right foot in that game which required surgery and forced him to almost all of the New Orleans Saints' offseason workouts – to the beginning of training camp, Coach Dennis Allen said he saw a ton of growth in Penning's game.

The second-year left tackle only played in six games as a rookie (a preseason turf toe on his left foot forced him to miss the first 11 games), but the honing of skills remained apparent.

Still, the edginess that is his calling card remains intact. Penning hasn't been involved in any dustups so far in training camp, but he was in the middle of two fracases last year, the second of which got him dismissed from practice.

"He's a very violent individual," quarterback Derek Carr said, smiling. "He wants to be physical, he wants to assert his dominance in the run game, in the pass game, all those kinds of things.

"Cool thing too is, (defensive end) Cam (Jordan) came up to him, was talking to him about something after our set, and you hear him like, 'Oh, yeah, yeah, I got you. That makes sense.' So as aggressive as he is, he's also willing to learn and grow as a player. I'm excited about him.

"He's a different cat, but you don't want everyone to be normal in the front when they're protecting you."

Penning is not normal. The first-round pick (No. 19 overall) goes as hard as the rules allow, often right to the very edge of the rule. It's a trait he's not attempting to corral, though it hasn't resulted in any post-play extracurriculars.

"I'd say I'm kind of the same guy, but obviously, got to keep my teammates safe and play smart," he said. "I'm still going to keep that aggressive side to me, that's kind of my trademark of how I play. That's how I've always played and how I envision offensive linemen should play.

"I just play my game and if they don't like it, so be it."

New Orleans likes it. Too, it likes the improvement Penning has made even though he couldn't work as totally as he would have liked due to his rehab.

"I really just tried to control what I can control," he said. "I tried to do the stuff during the offseason that I normally do, without using my feet. You can still do a ton of stuff, football-wise. You can still work your upper body, still hit the weight room, still work your punch and stuff like that.

"I just really control what I can control. It's been good, I definitely feel like I've taken a step from last year. Just want to keep continue the climb and keep progressing.

"My hands in pass protection needed to improve, and I think they have improved since even the first day this year. Just continuing to work at that and keep really perfecting my craft in pass pro and even run blocking. I think that's going to help a ton."

Photos: First look inside 2023 Saints Training Camp practice 8/5/23