Saints coach Sean Payton says receiver Marques Colston has been medically cleared to practice and will play Sunday at Jacksonville. Colston broke his collarbone in the season opener at Green Bay and missed the last two games. He returned to practice in a limited capacity Wednesday, but Payton said in a conference call with Jacksonville reporters that Colston would return against the Jaguars.

Former Saints player Steve Gleason, who has been diagnosed with ALS, was presented with a Super Bowl ring by coach Sean Payton at a surprise party Monday night. Gleason, 34, revealed Sunday that he is battling ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease; the Saints made him their honorary captain for the game against the Texans.

Steve Gleason, who revealed Sunday he has been diagnosed with ALS, was the honorary captain for the Saints in their game against the Texans. Gleason, 34, may always be remembered most for his blocked punt on the night the Louisiana Superdome reopened for the first time after Hurricane Katrina. "In a way, I see this as an opportunity to continue to be an inspiration, maybe even more so than I ever have been," Gleason said.

As the Saints prepare to face the Texans, quarterback Drew Brees is still without a new contract. An agreement between Brees and the team has not been reached and there is no deal in sight, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. The financial divide remains too wide. The two sides are expected to pull the plug on talks at some point in the near future for fear it will become a distraction.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees doesn't expect contract negotiations with the team to become a problem, even if they drag on throughout the season. "I'm trying to compartmentalize it the best that I can," Brees said. "That's why I hired my agent. They all have a job to do. I'm hoping it will be done sooner rather than later, but for me really it's about focusing on winning games and trying for it to not be a distraction." Brees is in the final year of the six-year, $60 million contract he signed with the Saints as a free agent in 2006.

Tom Condon, the agent for quarterback Drew Brees, spent the day with Saints general manager Mickey Loomis on Tuesday to try and narrow the gap in contract negotiations. "We spent a good deal of time together and had a substantial talk," Condon said. Although both sides are clearly motivated to work out a contract extension at some point, it's possible that a deal could come together within a matter of days or take several months to finalize. Brees, 32, is in the final year of his current contract with New Orleans.

League sources say a published report claiming that retired wide receiver Randy Moss visited the Saints on Saturday is not true. WWLTV previously reported that the Saints had interest in Moss and the receiver was at the team's facility, citing several sources. The league sources claim New Orleans has no current plans to sign Moss. The Saints could be in the market for a wide receiver after losing Marques Colston to a broken collar bone in the season-opening loss to the Packers.

Sean Payton made a controversial call on Thursday night when he decided to hand the ball to rookie running back Mark Ingram on the final play of the team's loss to the Packers. Green Bay stuffed the attempt and walked away winners in the first game of the NFL season. "It's a goal line play. It's a pretty standard play. It's a slant, 32 blast. They were in their goal line defense and we didn't execute like we had hoped. There were a lot of things that were done well there and yet we came up short. Green Bay made the play and we didn't," Payton said. Earlier in the game, New Orleans had passed on fourth and short. "There are two different situations. When you're on the one yard line in goal line offense, there are a handful of run versus the front that they play, two or three runs, and then it's play action pass. We felt pretty good about our matchups inside. "Looking back at the tape, those guys inside did a really good job for us. The penetration came from outside which really ended up stopping the play. The fourth-and-one, you have a lot more flexibility as to a number of different plays you’d want to call. We felt like at the one-yard line, this was a chance for us to punch it in, we felt good about the play and I think collectively our group felt pretty good about it."

Marques Colston could miss about four weeks with a broken collarbone, a person familiar with the situation said Friday. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Saints have declined to release specifics of the injury.

Aaron Rodgers came out on top in a memorable opening-night duel with Drew Brees, and the Packers made a goal-line stand on the final play of the game to beat the Saints 42-34 on Thursday night. With the Saints on the 1-yard line, Clay Matthews and safety Morgan Burnett led a swarm of Packers defenders who stopped Saints rookie running back Mark Ingram short of the goal line.