New Orleans Saints fans got some positive injury news this week when Kendre Miller returned to practice, but the second-year running back may not be ready to suit up against the Kansas City Chiefs just yet. He’s been out of action with a hamstring injury since the first day of training camp back in July, but now he’s working hard to show his coaches what they need to see to give him the green light.
So what’s keeping him off the field now? Is it Miller’s health or command of the offense making hurdles for him moving forward? That’s what Saints head coach Dennis Allen was asked.
“I’d say both, you know what I mean?” Allen responded Saturday.
Allen continued: “Look the biggest thing, you know, has been health. Is he available? Can he get out and practice? Can he get out and do some things? And you can’t really find out whether he knows the offense until he goes out and starts practicing and doing some things. I think he had a good week of practice, and it was good having him out there. I was excited about having him out there. We’ll see how he continues to go and make our decisions as we move along.”
On paper, Miller should be a great fit running behind Klint Kubiak’s zone-heavy blocking scheme. He has the combination of twitched-up agility, patient vision, and real speed in the open field to do some damage. But these three practices this week were his first exposure to Kubiak’s system. The coaches just don’t have much to work with in designing the game plan, so it’s all projection.
So will Miller dress out on Monday? That might be overambitious. But he has a chance, and so long as he stays healthy and keeps stacking good days of practice, it shouldn’t be too long before he makes his 2024 debut.
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