During Week 15, New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara suffered a groin injury. Will Kamara be available for this week’s game against the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football? Let’s examine the latest on Kamara’s status.
Will Alvin Kamara Play in Week 16?
Early in the fourth quarter of last week’s game against the Washington Commanders, Kamara went to the medical tent. Then, shortly after, he walked back to the locker room while talking with a medical staffer.
While it was initially unclear what happened to Kamara, the Saints revealed that he suffered a groin injury.
At the time he exited the game, Kamara had five carries for 12 yards while adding four receptions for 58 yards and a touchdown.
Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi has since stated that Kamara is dealing with a groin abductor issue. While it initially “felt minor,” it’s worth noting that Kamara is designated as questionable to play in Week 16 when the Saints face the Packers.
Darren Rizzi said Alvin Kamara's injury is a groin abductor type of situation. He said it felt minor and he felt it on the touchdown, but he's going to continue to go through tests. But then when asked if it was minor, Rizzi said he wasn't going to make a medical declaration.
— Katherine Terrell (@Kat_Terrell) December 16, 2024
Because the Saints play on Monday Night Football, this could present some challenges to fantasy managers if Kamara is a game-time decision, as a late scratch would leave fantasy teams without a key piece during the fantasy playoffs, and managers would have to find somebody else to pivot to last minute.
The fact that the Saints just signed former Kansas City Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire is also a bit alarming. Do they expect Kamara to miss time and are bringing in another back who can fill in while he’s sidelined?
A first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Edwards-Helaire signed with New Orleans on Wednesday, just two days after he was waived by Kansas City. The former LSU star and national champion hasn’t appeared in a game this season (as he was on the non-football illness list to start the campaign).
However, the two-time Super Bowl champion has totaled 1,845 rushing yards, 12 rushing touchdowns, 765 receiving yards, and seven receiving touchdowns throughout his four-year NFL career.
Kamara’s Fantasy Outlook for Week 16
Last week, Kamara made one of the better touchdown catches you’ll see from a running back and became the fourth player in NFL history with 50+ rushing TDs and 25+ receiving TDs in his career (joining Lenny Moore, Marshall Faulk, and Christian McCaffrey).
The versatility and production have been special this season when you consider the numerous moving pieces. Unfortunately, he’s dealing with a groin injury that could very well be a problem this week.
After not practicing on Friday, Kamara is unlikely to play this week and may have taken his final snap of the 2024 season, especially given the current state of New Orleans’ campaign.
If he suits up, I’m likely to read that as New Orleans is fully sold on its RB1’s health and, thus, starting him. For the record, I have him on my bench right now and am operating under the assumption that I will not have him at my disposal.
Who Will Start in Kamara’s Absence?
With Kamara likely out in Week 16, Kendre Miller, a third-round pick just a season ago, will get the chance to build on the nine carries for 46 yards that he put on film last weekend against the Commanders.
This, of course, isn’t an ideal spot. The Packers own the seventh-best run defense in terms of yards per carry allowed to running backs and figure to be operating with a lead, something that could lead to a script that trends away from Miller (12 catches in 12 NFL appearances and 12.4 carries for every catch during his three seasons at TCU).
That said, this could be a Zamir White situation from last season, where a young back is loaded up with work in an effort to evaluate them for next year. If that is reported to be likely, he could sneak into my top 30 this week.
This is a quantity-over-quality play, but after four months of wear-and-tear on fantasy rosters, that puts him firmly in the Flex conversation.
