The Sports Xchange

METAIRIE, La., — Going into the regular season, the New Orleans Saints have questions to answer that don’t necessarily have much to do with their 0-4 mark in exhibition play.

Still, some problems actually have something to do with a winless preseason that was mercifully capped by a 38-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night.

The Saints now head into their important Sept. 13 regular-season opener with the Arizona Cardinals missing some key pieces of a secondary that did not play together at any point in training camp or their four preseason games.

That’s concern No. 1 for head coach Sean Payton and his staff going forward.

Free safety Jairus Byrd was on the active/physically unable to perform list throughout training camp and for all four exhibition games, while cornerback Brandon Browner and strong safety Kenny Vaccaro were missing in the final three games.

After the first wave of transactions, the Saints waived safety Ed Phillips, which could mean that Byrd, who played in only four games last season before suffering a knee injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the year, could be returning to the field.

The Saints are shorthanded at wide receiver and tight end after the roster cut to the regular-season limit of 53 players came Saturday afternoon, while three of the five running backs that made it — C.J. Spiller and Khiry Robinson — were injured for most of the preseason.

Spiller, who is being counted on to spell starter Mark Ingram and serve as the third-down pass-catcher out of the backfield, reportedly had arthroscopic knee surgery on Aug. 14, but could be back for the opener at Arizona.

By design, Payton didn’t play some of his offensive starters as much as he has in the past in order to take a long look at some of his younger players.

That meant quarterback Drew Brees was only on the field for a limited amount of time, playing nearly one quarter of the second game and just the first series of the third game.

But through all that, and after Payton and general manager Mickey Loomis did some major renovations to the roster after going 7-9 a year ago, Brees is confident they’re ready to contend for the NFC South title.

“I feel like we have kind of refined that process throughout this preseason,” Brees said of not getting a lot of work. “Every team has their own philosophy … a lot of it depends on the age of your team, guys that are trying to get work, maybe there are certain positions you’re trying to rotate more guys in to get more reps and competition.

“I think Sean, in my conversations with him, has seen what he wants to see out of the first group in many cases.”

–Less than 24 hours after submitting 53 names to the NFL office, the Saints decided to terminate safety Kenny Phillips’ contract, waived defensive tackle Ashaad Mabry, an undrafted free agent and claimed two players on waivers.

A former first-round draft pick of the New York Giants, Phillips, 28, hasn’t played in the NFL since 2012 when he sustained a knee injury that sidelined him for the 2013 and ’14 seasons.

Mabry, a Texas-San Antonio product, made an impression on the coaching staff in training camp and preseason. He was one of four undrafted free agents on the defensive line who made the initial roster on Saturday, and is a candidate for the practice squad if he clears waivers.

To take their roster spots, the Saints claimed former Minnesota Vikings linebacker Michael Mauti and defensive end Obum Gwacham, who was let go by the Seattle Seahawks.

Notes: Running back C.J. Spiller continues his rehab from arthroscopic knee surgery on Aug. 14 and it’s not known if he’ll be ready for the regular-season opener Sunday. … Right cornerback Brandon Browner, who suffered an undisclosed injury in the preseason opener, could be back for Sunday’s game with the Arizona Cardinals. … Running back Khiry Robinson has not practiced since suffering an undisclosed injury on Aug. 22 and it’s not known when he’ll return. … Inside linebacker Dannell Ellerbe has missed practice since suffering a toe injury in the preseason opener and his return is not known.