The appearance of Alvin Kamara on the injury report in Week 17 has fantasy football managers concerned over his potential availability. With fantasy championships on the line for many, Kamara has been delivering in recent weeks, but will he be available Week 17? Let’s take a look at the latest updates for Kamara this week and whether fantasy managers should fret.
Update: Kamara returned to practice on Friday and has been cleared.
Is Alvin Kamara’s Absence Injury-Related or Something Else?
Kamara’s presence on the New Orleans Saints injury report has two listings. The RB is listed with both a quadriceps issue and a “non-injury related – personal” tag. In his media availability on Wednesday, head coach Dennis Allen put Kamara’s absence down to the personal issue without delving into the injury situation and did not elaborate further.
Shortly after that, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football tweeted that, according to a source, Kamara’s status for Sunday was not expected to be a concern. Intriguingly, he later deleted the tweet. However, after Kamara was absent from practice again, Jeff Nowak tweeted that Kamara’s Instagram was “currently a blank slate.” Once again, Underhill looked to reassure fans (and fantasy managers) by tweeting, “nothing going on here to worry about” in response to the tweet from Nowak.
Entering Friday, this situation is still murky. It does not seem like the quadriceps injury is all that concerning, but the personal issue is more of an uncertainty. We should get more of an idea of the situation on Friday. If Kamara is back at practice, that would suggest he is in line to play. Nonetheless, even if Kamara is absent again, there may not be any reason to panic.
We expect to hear from Allen again on Friday, and he will likely give some more insight into the situation. As it stands ahead of practice Friday, this is a true four-outcome situation. Kamara could be anything from ruled out Friday to being completely cleared from the injury report. It seems more likely he would be questionable or cleared than listed as doubtful or out.
MORE: Fantasy RB Start ’em Sit ’em Week 17
If Kamara is cleared and is on the field Sunday, there should be no major performance concerns based on injury. The quadriceps situation appears minor at best, so we can almost judge his situation for this week as if he will be a full go from that perspective.
In terms of the matchup, the Eagles are tough to judge for opposing RBs in the past four weeks. Their 17.3 fantasy points allowed to the position during that span are slightly below average. However, in the last two weeks, the Eagles have allowed more than 23 fantasy points per game at an average of 23.55 per game.
The Saints have also committed more to the run game in the last two weeks. In that period, they averaged 36.5 rushing attempts per game, with 34 in Week 15 and 39 in Week 16. Prior to that, they had only crossed 30 rushing attempts in three of the first 13 games.
Kamara could see plenty of work early in the game as the Saints look to control the clock. Therefore, if he is active, Kamara should be someone that fantasy managers look to start this week. Considering the potential points scored, you could look to add Alvin Kamara to a Underdog Fantasy Best Ball contest.