METAIRIE La. -- New Orleans Saints rookie wide receiver Jordyn Tyson took a major step toward making his season debut Wednesday, returning to practice for the first time since injuring his right hamstring in a joint practice against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Aug. 13.

Tyson was listed as a limited participant on the injury report along with left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., who also returned to practice following surgery on his ankle.

"You just got to let the medical side take its course, and when these guys become available, we'll continue to build off that plan," Saints coach Kellen Moore said. "But both guys have been working well and we'll just kind of let this week take its course. They're limited today and we'll see how the rest of the week goes."

Tyson was expected to be out at least two months after the hamstring injury, which occurred when he landed awkwardly after catching a pass during the Aug. 13 joint practice. Tyson was slow to get up after the injury but eventually jogged to the opposite sideline, though he didn't return to practice.

Tyson and the Saints have said the injury was not related to his previous hamstring issues from college.

"It was a contact injury," Tyson said Wednesday. "It's not like I was just running and I just pulled it. A guy pushed me very, very hard, a big dude at that, and kind of just went down on the sidelines."

The Saints have been cautious with Tyson, who was selected with the eighth pick of the 2026 NFL draft. Tyson had an extensive injury history before joining the Saints and missed three games for Arizona State last year with a hamstring injury. He did not do any on-field workouts at the NFL scouting combine as he rehabbed his hamstring issue and instead held a private workout for teams.

He also tore his ACL, MCL and PCL in his left knee when he was at Colorado in 2022, fractured his collarbone in 2024 and sprained his ankle in 2025, an injury that caused him to miss spring practices that year.

Tyson said he feels like the extended time to get himself right has been "a blessing."

"Kind of got a slow start to the NFL, so I got to kind of take my time and kind of really adjust to it," he said.

Tyson said he recently ran his fastest speed since his rehab began.

"I feel more explosive than I ever have," Tyson said. "So I think I'm doing pretty good. I think I'm doing just fine."

The Saints have tempered expectations for their rookie after so much time away from football. Moore said it was a matter of reacclimating Tyson and seeing the kind of volume he could handle and how his body responds.

"He's a dawg," quarterback Tyler Shough said. "I think he brings this mentality, this elusiveness, this versatility to our offense that it's hard to replace. At the same time, there's a lot of unknown. We haven't had a lot of reps with him. It could be even greater than we could imagine, it could be not a significant role as we may think. And both are extremely OK. We have to do a better job as a whole offense."

Tyson said he has been anxious to get back on the field, and he'll join an offense that has struggled with slow starts and a lack of run game. Tyson mentioned his blocking as one aspect of his game, as he'll join a team that has struggled to run the ball and ranks 28th in rushing yards. The Saints claimed running back Audric Estime off waivers from the Cleveland Browns this week while they wait for the return of Travis Etienne, who is on injured reserve with a hamstring injury and has yet to have his practice window opened.

When asked what he could bring to the table, Tyson said receivers are "supposed to be playmakers."

"Got to make plays, make plays that we're not supposed to make, make plays that we're supposed to make and just try to be as explosive as I can," Tyson said. "And also I'm a bigger dude -- 6-2, 215 -- so I think I can block pretty good."