The Sports Xchange

METAIRIE, La. — As if the New Orleans Saints’ 1-4 start wasn’t bad enough, they may have lost wide receiver Marques Colston for an extended period of time.

NFL Network reported Monday that Colston, a 10-year veteran who is the Saints’ all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, separated his shoulder in Sunday’s 39-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Colston clearly hurt his right shoulder in the third quarter of the blowout loss and tried to play through the injury, but was finally removed from the game and taken to the locker room. His arm was in a sling following the game.

Colston reportedly had an MRI on Monday, but head coach Sean Payton would only say during an afternoon teleconference that Colston would be listed on the injury report the team has to turn in to the league office on Tuesday.

–Saints first-round draft pick Andrus Peat had an up and down day in his first NFL start on Sunday in the loss to the Eagles.

Peat, the 13th overall pick of the draft this spring, was inserted into the starting lineup at left tackle in place of third-year pro Terron Armstead, who suffered a knee injury the previous week against the Dallas Cowboys.

Peat allowed two sacks of quarterback Drew Brees, with one of them resulting in a fumble that helped the Eagles swing the momentum to their side in a decisive third quarter.

“I felt like there were some ups and downs,” said Peat, the son of former NFL player Todd Peat. “Obviously, I wish I had done better … done a better job in (pass) protection. All I can do is improve for the next week, and that’s what I’m going to focus on going forward.”

The sack that resulted in the fumble gave the Eagles the ball at the Saints’ 13, which they turned into an easy touchdown pass from Sam Bradford to tight end Brent Celek for a 23-10 lead.

–ESPN reported Sunday morning that Payton could draw interest from other teams after this season is over.

Among the teams that might look at Payton, who was hired by the Saints in 2006, are the Miami Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts. Payton is under contract to the Saints through the 2017 season with a deal that reportedly pays him $8 million per year.

On Monday, Payton shot down the report and noted it happens almost every year. In the past, he’s been linked to jobs with the Dallas Cowboys and more recently college jobs at Michigan and Texas.

“You ignore half of that stuff and obviously dismiss it,” he said. “Our players aren’t distracted by that. That comes up yearly now, not just every three or four years. That came up, shoot, my second, third, fifth, ninth; pick a year.”

Payton said it’s important to make sure the players and coaches know what the focus is — this season and this season only.

“Certainly, as a coach you pay attention to it because you pay attention to all those things that are threatening,” he said. “I don’t know what else to say. … I love it here. I’m close to my children. I just built a brand new place here.

“You get tired of answering the questions and yet I understand you asking, and I’ll say what I said before. This is where I see myself, and I’ve said that now for however many years.”