DT · #93 · New Orleans Saints · week 9 vs Cleveland Browns · Sun Nov 8 · 1:00 PM ET

Nathan Shepherd

ROLE a starter
CLASS 2018 · R3 P72
EXP 8 seasons
AGE 32 and over
DEPTH NT1

90%PLAY EXPECTED

As of week 9, Nathan Shepherd was a DE for NO, age 32.9, 8 seasons of experience, drafted in round 3. In 2026 through week 8 he was listed at depth rank 1 on his club's depth chart; he had played 4 games on 66% of snaps; his line was 3 tackles a game, 0.1 sacks a game and 0 passes defended a game. Before 2026 he played 122 games (postseason included) over 8 seasons. His injury history held 14 episodes (ankle 3, chest 2, knee 2), 1 of them reaching OUT, 4 a repeat of an earlier site; the last was a hip injury in 2026 week 3.

The full read

In short

How our call moved in week 9

100500

72%72%72%72%72%72%72%72%72%72%72%72%72%72%72%72%72%72%72%72%72%72%72%72%72%72%81%81%81%81%81%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%90%

Tue 10:00 AM ETSun 11:02 AM ET

our call, P(plays)

72% LIKELY → 90% EXPECTED

Every call we wrote for him in week 9, earliest first, as written.

In short

Nathan Shepherd is a starter at nose tackle for NO — 71% of the snaps in his best week of 5. He has an illness injury. His team named him inactive in weeks 5 and 6 and 7. In week 9 he practised in full. His team has not listed him on the final report. We say he plays — 90%, in a band that plays 94% of the time. We have said PLAY since 292 hours before kickoff. We called him PLAY in week 7 and he did not play.

43versions in week 9

12average, every player

54most for one player

How the call moved

EXPECTED since Thu Nov 5 · 2:40 AM ET · 82 h before kickoff. Biggest move: 72% → 81%, Wed Nov 4 · 6:05 AM ET to Wed Nov 4 · 8:11 AM ET, with no club report in between.

Our call

Injury report

Our call · week 9

NOT EXPECTEDUNLIKELYCOIN FLIPLIKELYEXPECTED

90% · EXPECTED

we expect him to play — this band plays 94% of the time (92–96%), measured out of fold. We stand behind this one.

Practice in week 9

Wed
FPdated Fri Nov 6

Shape of the week: single reading. Only days the publisher dated are shown; a day we could not date is left out until the nightly sweep stamps it. The shape is a fact, not a forecast.

Head start

Our call Tue Oct 27 · 10:00 AM ET
Kickoff Sun Nov 8 · 1:00 PM ET

The evidence behind his current call

We have not read the news for this player this week.

Stats, with ranges — dot = his average, bar = his game range

Tackles / game3.2 range 2.0–4.0
wk 1–9 · 5 games
Sacks / game0.1 range 0.0–0.5
wk 1–9 · 5 games
Passes defended / game0.0 range 0.0–0.0
wk 1–9 · 5 games
Snap share61.8% range 44–71
wk 1–9 · 5 games

Snaps by week — his larger of the offence and defence share

71%wk 1
67%wk 2
69%wk 3
58%wk 4
44%wk 9

Missed while on the injury report

Season	Weeks on the report	Missed while listed
2026	5	2

Only the weeks he was on the injury report with a recorded result — not every game of his career.

Medical history

When	Injury	Weeks on a report	Worst status
2026 · wk 6	illness	3	Questionable
2026 · wk 4	Not injury related	1	—
2026 · wk 3	hip	1	—
2025 · wk 16	ankle	3	Out
2024 · wk 17	eye	1	Questionable
2024 · wk 7	groin	1	—
2021 · wk 12	arm	1	Questionable
2021 · wk 11	knee	1	Questionable
2021 · wk 5	knee	2	Questionable
2020 · wk 17	calf	1	—
2020 · wk 16	ankle	1	—
2020 · wk 9	back	1	Questionable
2020 · wk 1	chest	1	—
2019 · wk 16	chest	1	—
2019 · wk 15	ankle	1	Questionable
2018 · wk 6	shoulder	2	—

Every injury episode on file for him, as the record holds it.

Injury history by season · 15 episodes · plus 1 not injury related · 22 weeks on a report · same site more than once: ankle ×3

2018

shoulder · 2w

2019

chest · 1wankle · 1w

2020

calf · 1wankle · 1wback · 1wchest · 1w

2021

arm · 1wknee · 1wknee · 2w

2024

eye · 1wgroin · 1w

2025

ankle · 3w

2026

illness · 3wNot injury related · 1whip · 1w

Weeks 1–18

ruled out
questionable
listed, and played

Each bar is one episode: the week it began and how many weeks he was on a report, coloured by the worst status.

The rest of his team's report in week 9

Player	Pos	Practice	Whose word	Call	Chance he plays	Band
Davon Godchaux	DT	FULL	ours	PLAY	75%	LIKELY
Alvin Kamara	RB	FULL	ours	PLAY	99%	EXPECTED
Justin Reid	S	FULL	ours	PLAY	99%	EXPECTED
David Long	DB	UNK	ours	COIN FLIPleans play	62%	COIN FLIP
Cesar Ruiz	G	FULL	ours	PLAY	95%	EXPECTED
Travis Etienne	RB	UNK	team's word	—
Zach Wilson	QB	UNK	team's word	Out
Martin Emerson	CB	DNP	team's word	Questionable
John Ridgeway	DT	UNK	team's word	Out
Asim Richards	T	LTD	team's word	Questionable
Jaylan Ford	LB	UNK	team's word	Out
Mason Tipton	WR	UNK	team's word	Out
Kelvin Banks Jr.	T	LTD	team's word	Questionable
Michael Reid	SAF	UNK	team's word	Out
Jordyn Tyson	WR	LTD	team's word	Questionable
Mason Murphy	OT	UNK	team's word	Out
CJ Donaldson	RB	DNP	team's word	Out
Christen Miller	DT	UNK	team's word	Out

The model reads the room: who else is out shifts what his own designation is worth.

The evidence behind his earlier calls

The evidence behind the call made Tue Oct 27 · 10:00 AM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Tue Oct 27 · 12:02 PM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Tue Oct 27 · 5:06 PM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Wed Oct 28 · 7:03 AM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Wed Oct 28 · 12:06 PM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Wed Oct 28 · 5:03 PM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Thu Oct 29 · 7:03 AM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Thu Oct 29 · 12:06 PM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Thu Oct 29 · 5:07 PM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Fri Oct 30 · 7:06 AM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Fri Oct 30 · 12:06 PM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Fri Oct 30 · 5:03 PM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Sat Oct 31 · 7:06 AM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Sat Oct 31 · 12:03 PM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Sat Oct 31 · 5:08 PM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Sun Nov 1 · 6:07 AM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Sun Nov 1 · 11:03 AM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Sun Nov 1 · 4:03 PM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Mon Nov 2 · 6:07 AM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Mon Nov 2 · 11:04 AM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Mon Nov 2 · 4:07 PM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Tue Nov 3 · 6:02 AM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Tue Nov 3 · 11:05 AM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Tue Nov 3 · 4:05 PM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Tue Nov 3 · 11:57 PM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Wed Nov 4 · 6:05 AM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Wed Nov 4 · 8:11 AM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Wed Nov 4 · 11:04 AM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Wed Nov 4 · 4:04 PM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Wed Nov 4 · 5:50 PM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Wed Nov 4 · 6:45 PM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Thu Nov 5 · 2:40 AM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Thu Nov 5 · 6:06 AM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Thu Nov 5 · 11:06 AM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Thu Nov 5 · 4:06 PM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Fri Nov 6 · 6:06 AM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Fri Nov 6 · 11:06 AM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Fri Nov 6 · 4:06 PM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Sat Nov 7 · 6:02 AM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Sat Nov 7 · 11:06 AM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Sat Nov 7 · 4:06 PM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Sun Nov 8 · 6:06 AM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

The evidence behind the call made Sun Nov 8 · 11:02 AM ET

We have not read the news for this player this week.

Role

Call history

The data behind this page — the timeline in words, every call and week on record, about him, and what this page does not show

Profile — as of week 9


Role	DE1 · 66% snaps
Season	2026 · 4 games through wk 8
Per game	3 tackles · 0.1 sacks · 0 passes defended
Career	8 seasons · 122 games before 2026
Injuries	14 episodes · last: hip, 2026 wk 3
Bio	age 32.9 · 8 seasons' experience · drafted round 3

Where the profile comes from

Built from: honors.db; nflverse injuries_2026.csv; medical.db; nflverse players.csv; profile.db; nflverse roster_2026.csv; nflverse roster_weekly_2026.csv; nflverse snap_counts_2026.csv; nflverse stats_player_week_2026.csv. Every number in it is one those sources hold.

nflverse injuries_2026.csv

AI-generated · who he is

Nathan Shepherd, a defensive end, is on this week's club report after being carried into the week from his last game week, when he was questionable and sat. The club has named the injury as an illness. On Thursday he was a full participant in practice, listed with that illness.

What the AI text stands on

Fact	Value	Where we hold it
Role	DL, defense	R2P knowledge graph · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
Role by snaps, last four weeks	most snaps	R2P knowledge graph · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
Why he is on this week's watch list	carried into the week from his last game week; on this week's club report	R2P knowledge graph · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
Injury named by the club	Illness	the club report · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
Designation carried into the week	Questionable	R2P carry-over (his last game week) · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
Practice Thursday	Full Participation in Practice (Illness)	the club report · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
practice.final	FP	the club report · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
last_game.status	sat	R2P knowledge graph · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
baseline.missing	false	R2P knowledge graph · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
baseline.n_games	4	R2P knowledge graph · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
return_state.activated	false	R2P knowledge graph · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
team.q_play_rate_shrunk	0.7249	R2P knowledge graph · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
team.style	middle	R2P knowledge graph · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
team.late_add_rate	0.737	R2P knowledge graph · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
lookback.reason	illness — Shepherd was listed for illness with an NIR-rest tag, was questionable, and was ruled inactive for Sunday. He had also missed Weeks 5 and 6 with an illness and had skipped Friday practice, so the illness-and-rest pattern was visible before kickoff. [2026-10-23 https://w	R2P knowledge graph · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
Earlier illness injury episodes since 2023	1	R2P knowledge graph · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
episode.site	illness	R2P knowledge graph · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
episode.typical_missed	0.0	R2P knowledge graph · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
Position	DE	nflverse players · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
Years of experience	8	nflverse players · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
College	Fort Hays; Simon Fraser	nflverse players · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
Drafted	round 3, pick 72, NYJ 2018	nflverse draft_picks · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
Height (inches)	76	R2P knowledge graph (nflverse rosters, snaps and injuries; club reports) · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
Weight (lb)	315	R2P knowledge graph (nflverse rosters, snaps and injuries; club reports) · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
Age at the start of the week	33.1	R2P knowledge graph (nflverse rosters, snaps and injuries; club reports) · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
Weeks with snaps this season	4	R2P knowledge graph (nflverse rosters, snaps and injuries; club reports) · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
Injury episodes since 2023: ankle	1	R2P knowledge graph (nflverse rosters, snaps and injuries; club reports) · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
Injury episodes since 2023: eye	1	R2P knowledge graph (nflverse rosters, snaps and injuries; club reports) · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
Injury episodes since 2023: groin	1	R2P knowledge graph (nflverse rosters, snaps and injuries; club reports) · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
Injury episodes since 2023: hip	1	R2P knowledge graph (nflverse rosters, snaps and injuries; club reports) · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET
Injury episodes since 2023: illness	1	R2P knowledge graph (nflverse rosters, snaps and injuries; club reports) · as of Thu Nov 5 · 3:00 PM ET

Written by grok-4.7, Thu Nov 5 · 3:07 PM ET. Every figure in it is one of these facts.

About him

About him	As the record holds it
His role	a starter at nose tackle — 71% of the snaps in his best week of 5
Listed on the depth chart	first at nose tackle
Snaps played	62% a week on average over 5 weeks, 71% at his highest, 17% on special teams
Build	6 ft 4 in · 315 lb
College	Fort Hays; Simon Fraser
Drafted	2018, round 3 pick 72, by NYJ
Age	32 and over at the season's start
Experience	8 seasons

When this call was made, and when the world knew

Tue Oct 27 · 10:00 AM ETWrittenWe first said PLAY.
Sun Nov 8 · 1:00 PM ETPublicOur call became public when the week settled.
Sun Nov 8 · 1:00 PM ETKickoffKickoff.

How our call moved, earliest first

When	Lead	Call	Chance he plays	Band	On what
Tue Oct 27 · 10:00 AM ET	292 h	PLAY	72%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Tue Oct 27 · 12:02 PM ET	290 h	PLAY	72%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Tue Oct 27 · 5:06 PM ET	285 h	PLAY	72%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Wed Oct 28 · 7:03 AM ET	271 h	PLAY	72%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Wed Oct 28 · 12:06 PM ET	266 h	PLAY	72%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Wed Oct 28 · 5:03 PM ET	261 h	PLAY	72%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Thu Oct 29 · 7:03 AM ET	247 h	PLAY	72%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Thu Oct 29 · 12:06 PM ET	242 h	PLAY	72%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Thu Oct 29 · 5:07 PM ET	237 h	PLAY	72%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Fri Oct 30 · 7:06 AM ET	223 h	PLAY	72%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Fri Oct 30 · 12:06 PM ET	218 h	PLAY	72%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Fri Oct 30 · 5:03 PM ET	213 h	PLAY	72%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Sat Oct 31 · 7:06 AM ET	199 h	PLAY	72%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Sat Oct 31 · 12:03 PM ET	194 h	PLAY	72%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Sat Oct 31 · 5:08 PM ET	189 h	PLAY	72%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Sun Nov 1 · 6:07 AM ET	175 h	PLAY	72%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Sun Nov 1 · 11:03 AM ET	170 h	PLAY	72%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Sun Nov 1 · 4:03 PM ET	165 h	PLAY	72%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Mon Nov 2 · 6:07 AM ET	151 h	PLAY	72%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Mon Nov 2 · 11:04 AM ET	146 h	PLAY	72%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Mon Nov 2 · 4:07 PM ET	141 h	PLAY	72%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Tue Nov 3 · 6:02 AM ET	127 h	PLAY	72%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Tue Nov 3 · 11:05 AM ET	122 h	PLAY	72%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Tue Nov 3 · 4:05 PM ET	117 h	PLAY	72%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Tue Nov 3 · 11:57 PM ET	109 h	PLAY	72%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Wed Nov 4 · 6:05 AM ET	103 h	PLAY	72%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Wed Nov 4 · 8:11 AM ET	101 h	PLAY	81%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Wed Nov 4 · 11:04 AM ET	98 h	PLAY	81%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Wed Nov 4 · 4:04 PM ET	93 h	PLAY	81%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Wed Nov 4 · 5:50 PM ET	91 h	PLAY	81%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Wed Nov 4 · 6:45 PM ET	90 h	PLAY	81%	LIKELY	after his team's announcement
Thu Nov 5 · 2:40 AM ET	82 h	PLAY	90%	EXPECTED	before his team said anything
Thu Nov 5 · 6:06 AM ET	79 h	PLAY	90%	EXPECTED	before his team said anything
Thu Nov 5 · 11:06 AM ET	74 h	PLAY	90%	EXPECTED	before his team said anything
Thu Nov 5 · 4:06 PM ET	69 h	PLAY	90%	EXPECTED	before his team said anything
Fri Nov 6 · 6:06 AM ET	55 h	PLAY	90%	EXPECTED	before his team said anything
Fri Nov 6 · 11:06 AM ET	50 h	PLAY	90%	EXPECTED	before his team said anything
Fri Nov 6 · 4:06 PM ET	45 h	PLAY	90%	EXPECTED	before his team said anything
Sat Nov 7 · 6:02 AM ET	31 h	PLAY	90%	EXPECTED	before his team said anything
Sat Nov 7 · 11:06 AM ET	26 h	PLAY	90%	EXPECTED	before his team said anything
Sat Nov 7 · 4:06 PM ET	21 h	PLAY	90%	EXPECTED	before his team said anything
Sun Nov 8 · 6:06 AM ET	7 h	PLAY	90%	EXPECTED	before his team said anything
Sun Nov 8 · 11:02 AM ET	2 h	PLAY	90%	EXPECTED	before his team said anything

43 calls in week 9, and the call never flipped between PLAY and SIT. Each lead time is the one that call actually had when it was written — never recounted from now. A call that changes is the record working: new evidence arrived and we said so, in public, before the game.

We went and found out more

Rank 1 (listed first on his depth chart), 12 documents deep, because: llm_unsure. Fetched 12 of 12.

Named inactive in week 5

The team's own list. We held it before kickoff, so it could have informed a call. Matched to him by his player id.

Named inactive in week 6

The team's own list. We held it before kickoff, so it could have informed a call. Matched to him by his player id.

Named inactive in week 7

The team's own list. We held it before kickoff, so it could have informed a call. Matched to him by his player id.

What this page does not show

the reader's opinion — it has not read him in week 9.