The New Orleans Saints got a huge come-from-behind win over the Atlanta Falcons last week. However, even after the win, Saints fans and fantasy football managers were left with questions after star running back Alvin Kamara was somewhat nonexistent.
It was later revealed that Kamara had suffered a rib injury. Now, with another important game against an NFC South rival on deck, will Kamara play today, and what is the most recent injury update for the Saints RB?
Update: Alvin Kamara has officially been ruled OUT for the Saints game against the Buccaneers.
Is Alvin Kamara playing today against the Buccaneers?
Even against a Falcons defense that has more holes than a slice of swiss cheese, Kamara was quite limited, producing only 46 yards of offense. After averaging 102 total yards per game through his first five years, fans expected quite a bit more.
Saints head coach Dennis Allen revealed that Kamara had suffered a rib injury. After the game, Kamara himself said that he would be “good to go” moving forward. However, during the week, Kamara was a limited participant in practice on Wednesday and did not participate Thursday or Friday. Additionally, the team signed Latavius Murray to their practice squad.
On Sunday morning, there were conflicting reports. Adam Schefter reported that Kamara is unlikely to play, but Ian Rapoport reported there was still a chance. We will continue to monitor the situation as inactives are officially announced ahead of the start of Week 2’s action.
Fantasy implications of Kamara’s injury
As PFN’s fantasy analyst Ian Wharton mentions in his recent look at Kamara’s Week 2 potential, the Saints RB has thrived in matchups against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In 10 games over the last five seasons against the Bucs, Kamara has produced 464 rushing yards, 493 receiving yards, and 11 total touchdowns.
The Saints have won seven straight matchups, including double-digit margins in six of their last seven battles. However, this is a new year and a new Buccaneers defense. Last week, against a Cowboys offense with a dynamic pair of RBs in Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott, Tampa Bay allowed just six fantasy points to the position.
In PFN’s standard scoring fantasy RB rankings, Kamara is RB14. But if Kamara is ultimately ruled out, Mark Ingram will see action as the team’s RB1. After just four carries last week, the 33-year-old’s potential is not incredibly high. Another caveat in this is the dynamic Taysom Hill, who also had four carries in Week 1.
However, Hill was more effective with the opportunities he got. Additionally, Hill can be slotted in at the tight end position on most fantasy platforms, which could be an interesting strategy this week.