Saints players in Paris say they'll steer clear of protest hotspots ahead of Steelers game

PARIS (AP) — Saints tight end Juwan Johnson said some of his family members are “very undecided" about whether to travel to Paris for New Orleans' game against the Pittsburgh Steelers amid civil unrest in France.

The Saints arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport Monday morning and in a virtual news conference addressed questions about the rioting that is in the headlines and flooding social media.

The NFL said Sunday that “preparations continue as scheduled for NFL events and the game” at Stade de France.

“Just being safe is obviously the biggest thing,” Johnson said. "Some guys have family here. Some guys have their parents, their kids and things like that."

Johnson said his family “may be making the trip. If they do I’m sure it’ll be great. If they don’t, obviously I completely understand. We’re very undecided right now.”

Paris Saint-Germain soccer club has invited Saints players to the team's Champions League game against Barcelona on Tuesday night at Parc des Princes.

Saints safety Justin Reid said beyond that, he'll mostly stay closer to Versailles, site of the team's accommodations.

“Keep it low-key, keep it fun, do things as a group, do things as a team and above all else stay out of the mix and don’t find any way to be a distraction to our ultimate goal here, which is to come in and put on a performance and get a win,” he said.

The NFL's statement added: "There’s been no disruption or impact at league sites.”

The Steelers plan to arrive in Paris later this week. Safety Jaquan Brisker said “it looks crazy out there. But I guess everybody has a plan.”

___

See AP’s full NFL coverage here