NEW ORLEANS — Amid public and political scrutiny, the New Orleans Saints have adopted a new refund policy allowing fans to relinquish their season tickets and get their money back.

The Saints plan to fill the 73,000-seat Superdome for home games this season but have said that, in accordance with various local and state protocols, only fans who wear masks and show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test 72 hours before a game may attend.

The Saints previously stated that fans who had chosen to maintain their ticket accounts for this season would not be eligible for refunds as they had been in 2020, when government restrictions prevented large crowds in the dome.

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, a Republican who opposes mask mandates, called on state officials Wednesday to withhold funding for ongoing improvements of the state-owned Superdome unless the Saints agreed to provide refunds.

The Saints, in turn, announced the new refund policy on Thursday, noting that just 120 account holders previously requested refunds – and that anyone else who wants a refund must make a request by Tuesday.

“Last season, we made the decision to offer refunds or rollover accounts to the following season because we knew government regulations would not allow us to fulfill a full season of attendance,” Saints spokesman Greg Bensel said. “This is not the case this season. Based on current city and state regulations allowing full capacity, we did not plan to offer refunds for season tickets, as has been our standard policy.”

However, Bensel noted, the Saints have received “thousands of calls” from fans wanting to purchase season tickets made available by current account holders seeking refunds.

“Our preference is to have these loyal fans in the seats” rather than see other fans who’d previously requested refunds sell their tickets to visiting fans on the secondary market, Bensel added.

Bensel also noted that the Saints will allow ticketed fans who show up to the Superdome without proof of vaccination or a negative test to gain entry to games if they receive a free vaccination being offered at the dome with help from Ochsner Health System, one of the club’s chief sponsors.

JETS: Defensive end Carl Lawson will miss the season after rupturing his Achilles in practice Thursday, a devastating loss for a team seeking to turn the corner under a new head coach, Robert Saleh.

Backup safety Zane Lewis also suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Both players were carted off the field during Thursday’s joint practice session with the Green Bay Packers.

The Jets announced later in the day that Lawson had ruptured his Achilles and Lewis had torn his patella tendon and sprained his medial collateral ligament.

PACKERS: Quarterback Jordan Love hasn’t practiced this week and probably won’t play in Green Bay’s exhibition game Saturday against the New York Jets.

Love hurt his right shoulder late in the second quarter of a 26-7 preseason loss to the Houston Texans when Jonathan Greenard came from his blind side to sack him and force a fumble.

“I don’t want to rule him out yet, but I’d say it’s probably unlikely,” Packers Coach Matt LaFleur said before a joint practice with the Jets.

If Love doesn’t play, Green Bay’s quarterbacks for the Jets game will be Kurt Benkert and Jake Dolegala, who returned to the Packers this week after getting waived on July 27. LaFleur has said he doesn’t plan to use reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers in any preseason games.

LIONS: Coach Dan Campbell, who shared a locker room with veteran long snapper Don Muhlbach as a player more than a decade ago, shouldered the blame for the poor timing of Muhlbach’s release – on his 40th birthday.

“There’s no way to sugarcoat that,” Campbell said. “I’m an (expletive). That’s the best way to put it and I hate it. There was no way around it, really. You can say there is, but ultimately that falls on me. It’s my fault. Don is a hell of a dude and it sucks, but it is what it is.”

Campbell said a number of upcoming roster decisions put the Lions in a position where they had to find a spot quickly. He opened up his Tuesday evening press conference by somberly announcing Muhlbach was being let go the organization. The veteran had played 260 games across 17 seasons, the second-most in franchise history.

He was twice named to the Pro Bowl and was selected as a captain each of the past three seasons.

DOLPHINS: Miami’s injury-depleted receiving corps included Preston Williams at practice for the first time this training camp, but yet another player at the position was sidelined.

Williams and linebacker Elandon Roberts were removed from the physically unable to perform list to take part in the second of two joint practices with the Atlanta Falcons ahead of their exhibition game Saturday. But midway through practice, Lynn Bowden Jr. walked gingerly off the field holding the back of his right leg after diving to catch a pass. He did not return.

Already missing from practice were receivers Albert Wilson, DeVante Parker, Will Fuller and Isaiah Ford. Receiver Allen Hurns was placed on injured reserve Tuesday.

Williams suffered a season-ending foot injury last November while being tackled in the end zone during the Dolphins’ 34-31 victory against the Arizona Cardinals. It was Williams’ fourth touchdown catch on the season, which led the team at the time. He also missed half the season as a rookie free agent in 2019, when he had 32 catches in eight games.

RAIDERS-RAMS: The Los Angeles Rams’ second joint practice with the Las Vegas Raiders ended early when the teams had a prolonged brawl.

The fight began during special teams work, and it started and stopped several times before coaches Sean McVay of the Rams and Jon Gruden of the Raidres decided to scrap the remaining periods of practice, which had been scheduled to last for another 45 minutes.

“Everybody knows better,” Gruden said. “It wasn’t everybody fighting. It’ll be on TV. You’ll see a bunch of guys screaming and yelling, but it was two guys in a special teams period, and then it was a lot of trash talking that just escalated. Just sickening, really, it’s just stupidity, but I’m done with that. It’s just child’s play to me.”

The culprits weren’t easily identified in the mass of players working on punt blocking and punt coverage outside the Rams’ training complex, but punches appeared to be thrown by both teams.