Category: Alvin Kamara

Alvin Kamara has one more test to determine status for Week 18

Alvin Kamara is doubtful to play on Sunday, but he’ll go through a a final round of testing on Saturday to determine his status for the Saints’ finale vs. Buccaneers:

The New Orleans Saints may be without Alvin Kamara for their season finale against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The star running back is was listed as doubtful on Friday’s injury report, but interim head coach Darren Rizzi alluded to a final decision being made Saturday.

Kamara was unable to practice at all week while managing a groin injury that’s caused him to miss a few games. The final decision will come based on how Kamara reacts to simulated game situations.

Rizzi told reporters: “Alvin, we’re going to try to put him through some game-like situations in the morning to see if he can operate and function.”

Derek Carr went through the same thing. The Saints put Carr through a simulated game at practice with the same intention. They did that earlier in the week and came to the conclusion Carr wouldn’t be able to play.

Since Kamara’s injury is to his core groin muscles, it’ll be likely about testing his lateral movement and explosiveness. It’s also important to remember Kamara is a dual threat running back. They’ll have to check his ability to run routes out the backfield as well.

His doubtful designation would suggest seeing him on the field is a long shot. Confirmation should be soon on Saturday afternoon.

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Buccaneers rookie RB drawing comparisons to Saints superstar

Bucky Irving’s rookie season with the Buccaneers has put him in exclusive company. It’s just him and Alvin Kamara in this key category:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie running back Bucky Irving has gotten off to a strong start to his career. In his first season in the NFL, Irving has joined exclusive company. He and New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara are the only running backs to reach 1,400 scrimmage yards on less than 250 touches as a rookie.

This is a great display of their explosiveness and dual-threat ability. Kamara’s rookie season was only 16 games, so this is a good point to compare stats and usage.

Irving has more overall touches and is used as a runner more frequently than Kamara was as a rookie. On the other hand, Kamara’s receiving production far outweighs the rookie’s.

The ability to do both is what connects the two, and Irving told Bucs media Kamara was “a guy I always looked up to” and noted Kamara’s receiving ability.

To take the connection a step further, Irving revealed Kamara reached out to him in college to tell the young player he liked his game.

Irving is coming off his most total yards in a game last week. This week, the Saints are tasked with trying to stop Irving much better than they did last time. He had his first game with 100-plus scrimmage yards this season against the Saints in Week 6. Will he do it again in Week 18?

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Alvin Kamara has a shot to return in time for Week 18

Alvin Kamara isn’t playing this Sunday, but he has a shot at returning in Week 18 with his first 1,000-yard season in reach:

The New Orleans Saints are at a point where injured players should rest their bodies, because the team doesn’t have much to play for collectively. That sentiment applies to Derek Carr and Chris Olave, but it doesn’t apply to Alvin Kamara.

What makes Kamara different? Kamara is 50 yards away from his first season with 1,000 rushing yards. He has a clear and valuable objective he can hit. Carr’s version of that would have been playing the Las Vegas Raiders this week.

Darren Rizzi told reporters the running back has “a very realistic shot” at playing next week, and that Kamara has the mindset of wanting to get back on the field.

Kamara has been one of the best running backs in the NFL, but that century mark has eluded him. He deserves every chance to hit that number. 50 yards is attainable. If he is healthy enough to play against the Buccaneers, Kamara should play. Those last 50 yards should be a priority for New Orleans.

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Kendre Miller’s presence is a silver lining of Alvin Kamara’s injury

Kendre Miller’s workload was due to be increased, but Alvin Kamara’s injury has forced the issue quicker than expected for the Saints:

Alvin Kamara is expected to miss Monday night’s game versus the Green Bay Packers with a groin injury suffered last week. There’s a chance the New Orleans Saints’ best player will miss this week, and the following two games, to close the season.

Kendre Miller is the next man up. He took over for Kamara in the late stretch against the Commanders, and now the New Orleans Saints will have to lean on the Miller moving forward.

Miller’s presence is the only silver lining of the situation. If New Orleans was stuck with just Jamaal Williams to offset the loss of Kamara, there would be an extreme panic.

Miller, on the other hand, has been a bright spot since returning from injury. He has been quick and explosive in his limited carries. Miller saw a season high in carries against the Commanders. Still, it felt more carries were in order.

The injury to Kamara has forced the Saints’ hand on giving Miller a larger workload. The increase in carries and attention should increase his development. Seeing that Miller is one of the players you believe could be a building block for the team, this is a golden opportunity for him. Give Miller a three-week span as the lead back, and you’ll be able to confirm this notion.

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Alvin Kamara’s untimely injury puts a career milestone in jeopardy

Alvin Kamara was on pace to check this box off his resume, but his groin injury could keep the Saints RB from reaching a major career milestone:

Alvin Kamara has been one of the NFL’s best running backs since entering the league in 2017. As the league transitioned to prioritizing running backs who can run and catch, the New Orleans Saints star was a leader of that charge. Winning the Saints franchise record for touchdowns scored and rushing yards gained is proof of it.

Because of his sustained prominence, some would be surprised to know Alvin Kamara has never rushed for 1,000 yards in a season. If Kamara’s groin injury keeps him out for the rest of the season, he will fall just short of the century mark again.

Kamara recently surpassed his career-high in yardage. This season marks just the second time he ran for at least 900 yards. In 2020, Kamara fell 68 yards short of crossing 1,000 yards. When the milestone was within arm’s reach, he tested positive for COVID-19 in the final week of the season.

This time he had three games left in need of just 50 yards. All he would have needed was to average 17 rushing yards a game. That felt like a safe bet. But if Kamara isn’t able to return this year, he will narrowly miss checking this box of his resume for the second time in his career.

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Darren Rizzi shares injury updates on Alvin Kamara, Kool-Aid McKinstry

Darren Rizzi shared injury updates on New Orleans Saints playmakers Alvin Kamara and Kool-Aid McKinstry after they were nicked up against the Commanders:

Interim head coach Darren Rizzi shared injury updates on a couple of New Orleans Saints playmakers after they were nicked up against the Washington Commanders on Sunday. Star running back Alvin Kamara made the play of the day when he caught a touchdown pass on a trick play from wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr., but he exited the game with a groin injury and didn’t return.

Rizzi said after the game was told that Kamara felt something on his long touchdown catch: “That’s what it sounds like from our medical staff. I will have more information. He’s going to get some imaging stuff, so I’ll have more on that later.”

As for Kool-Aid McKisntry — Rizzi said the rookie cornerback was diagnosed with a stinger after taking the brunt of a big hit while making a tackle, but he was given the green light to return on Sunday afternoon.

“All I know is that if we had gone back on defense, I was told he would have gone back in the game. I don’t know all the details of it, but I was told during the game on the sideline. I was just told he was good to go back in the game,” Rizzi said.

Additionally, wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling was evaluated for a concussion after getting shaken up in a collision downfield, but he was cleared to return and later got back in the game. The Saints play on Monday night next week against the Green Bay Packers so we’ll have to wait until practice resumes on Thursday for official word on everyone’s status, barring any reports or announcements sooner.

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Alvin Kamara (groin) questionable to return vs. Commanders

Alvin Kamara (groin) is questionable to return in the fourth quarter of the Saints’ game with the Commanders:

This isn’t what you want to see: Alvin Kamara was seen walking to the New Orleans Saints locker room escorted by members of the team’s medical staff after scoring a long touchdown catch against the Washington Commanders. The Saints later announced that Kamara was dealing with a groin injury and was questionable to return midway through the fourth quarter.

He’s a huge loss. Kamara is the team’s best player and on Sunday brought a couple of much-needed sparks in the passing game, including that touchdown and a field-flipping catch earlier on. We’ll see if he can return. Kamara has dealt with a variety of injuries this season including a broken hand.

In the meantime, expect a heavier workload for second-year running back Kendre Miller and veteran backup Jamaal Williams. But there’s no replacing No. 41.

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WATCH: Saints use a trick play to score first TD of Week 15

Alvin Kamara caught a long touchdown pass against the Commanders, but it wasn’t thrown by a Saints quarterback:


The New Orleans Saints dug into their trick play bag to score to get on the board for the first time against the Washington Commanders.

Alvin Kamara scored his first touchdown since Week 6 and his first receiving touchdown since Week 2, but it didn’t come from a quarterback. Spencer Rattler pitched the ball backwards to Cedrick Wilson Jr. and Wilson threw the touchdown. Kamara pulled in the pass with one hand to add some extra flair at the end.

Wilson has a perfect completion percentage in his career. This was his sixth pass attempt and completion of his career, in addition to his second touchdown.

The play came off the heels of Rattler’s big pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling. That pass brought them down the field, and the trick play closed out the drive.

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Saints share good news on final injury report vs. Washington Commanders

The New Orleans Saints shared good news on Alvin Kamara with their final injury report for Week 15’s game against the Washington Commanders:

Here we go. The New Orleans Saints shared good news on Alvin Kamara with their final injury report for Week 15’s game against the Washington Commanders. Kamara missed the first two days of practice recovering from an illness, but the star running back worked out fully on Friday and has no game status listed for Sunday’s kickoff — he’ll be leading the charge like he has all year.

A couple of Saints players were listed with game statuses worth watching, though. Starting quarterback Derek Carr (left hand/concussion) is doubtful to play after missing practice this week. Veteran defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon (Achilles) has been working his way back from the physically unable to perform list (PUP) and is officially questionable for Sunday’s game. Rookie wide receiver Bub Means (ankle), who is on injured reserve, has been ruled out along with backup linebacker D’Marco Jackson (ankle).

As for the other side? Former Saints Pro Bowl cornerback Marshon Lattimore (hamstring) is expected to play and make his Washington Commanders debut after missing the last month with that soft-tissue injury, having been dealt at the NFL trade deadline. Of course he’s debuting against his former team. Additionally, Commanders wide receiver Noah Brown (kidney) has been ruled out, and three of his teammates are questionable: defensive tackle Daron Payne (back), wide receiver Jamison Crowder (calf), and kicker Zane Gonzalez (left foot).

Here is the final injury report from both teams:

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Alvin Kamara is putting the team on his back in a unique 2024 season

Alvin Kamara is the only player in the NFL this season leading his team in both rushing yards and receiving yards. His extension only looks better by the day:

The NFL in recent years has been heavily driven by the wide receiver market, with the top two non-quarterback salaries for the 2024 season being Justin Jefferson at $35 million and CeeDee Lamb at $34 million. This is because the receiving and passing game has become more and more utilized in recent years, and receivers have become even more valuable at the top end.

However, some running backs stand out among the crowd as valuable in both the ground game and the receiving game, most notably Christian McCaffrey in recent years, as well as New Orleans Saints star Alvin Kamara.

Kamara had a tough few years with the injuries he had piling up, and an extension seemed far away at best. Yet, in 2024, he has shown exactly why he deserved and got one. He is the only player in the NFL entering Week 15 to lead his team in both rushing and receiving yards in 2024, with 485 receiving yards and 938 rushing yards.

He is first in the league in receiving yards at the RB position as well, showing how premier this season has been for him. All of that is great, but he has also done it with 0 fumbles, one of only three running backs in the top-10 for rushing yards to accomplish that this year, alongside Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson.

With Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and Bub Means all going down from the receiver room, someone needed to step up and handle the receiving part of the offense, and Kamara has done so without a doubt.

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