METAIRIE, La. -- Help has arrived for the New Orleans Saints' 31st-ranked defense.
First-round draft pick Sheldon Rankins returned to practice Wednesday and has been designated as the Saints' one player to return from injured reserve this season.
The rookie defensive tackle was placed on IR in Week 1 after he suffered a broken left fibula during training camp. Wednesday was the first day he was eligible to return under NFL rules. The earliest Rankins can return to a game is Week 9 at the San Francisco 49ers.
Rankins said he went through a few individual drills as he slowly increases his workload. And he said he thinks a Week 9 return to game action is realistic.
"Barring any setbacks, I think we're on schedule for that time frame. But I'm gonna take it day by day and let God handle the rest," Rankins said.
Rankins admitted there would be some rust but said he began running a few weeks ago and that his weight is right where he feels most comfortable at 305 pounds.
"I think a couple weeks [of practicing before playing] is fine," Rankins said. "I think in a sense as a football player, you've been doing it for so long you kind of have some semblance of what you're doing out there. But timing is everything. When I'm rushing the passer, when I throw my hands or when I take this step to come inside and different things like that. And conditioning -- being able to run to the ball, play hard, things like that.
"I think those are the real things these few weeks are gonna allow me to do and be a big help for me."
Rankins described the past two weeks as "quiet" and said it felt great to be around his teammates, cutting up and laughing on the practice field. He said it also felt great to do things like diving into a tackling dummy.
"Yeah, I definitely was kind of anxious to go through that," Rankins said. "Little things like tackling drills and hitting sleds and football movements was fun for me today, just to see how my body would react to it, how my leg would react to it. It was good for me."
The Saints (2-3) could use Rankins. The defense ranks 31st in the NFL with 419.4 yards allowed per game. And they have allowed the most points in the league at 33.6 per game.
The 6-foot-2, 305-pound Rankins is a disruptive force up the middle who should help both the pass rush and the run defense. Rankins had 14 sacks and 26.5 tackles for loss over his final two years at Louisville before New Orleans drafted him with the No. 12 pick.
The Saints also are hoping to get No. 1 cornerback Delvin Breaux back soon from his own broken left fibula that he suffered in Week 1. It's not clear yet whether Breaux will resume practicing this week.