This is huge: the New Orleans Saints will be without star running back Alvin Kamara for Sunday’s final regular season game with the Atlanta Falcons, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill, who adds that rookie backup Kendre Miller will be active for the first time since his Nov. 5 ankle injury.
Kamara is dealing with an ankle injury of his own that knocked him out of last week’s road win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Saints rested him during practice all week before making this decision, but he was still seen as a long-shot to play all along.
Hopefully Miller can step up in his absence. The first-year pro has dealt with a ton of adversity over the last 12 months — he declared for the NFL draft after his college career ended with a knee injury before TCU’s national championship bid, costing him much of the offseason with the Saints. Then a preseason hamstring injury slowed him down. And when he did return, a midseason ankle sprain sidelined him.
With Kamara out and Miller in, the Saints’ depth chart at running back will include Jamaal Williams and practice squad call-up Jordan Mims along with Miller. Kamara accounted for 69 rushing yards and 50 receiving yards in New Orleans’ loss to Atlanta earlier this season; Williams, the only other Saints running back active for the game, totaled 10 yards from scrimmage.
