Saints could be eliminated from playoff contention before MNF

The Saints enter Week 16 with a one percent chance at making the playoffs, but that could drop to zero before they take a snap on Monday night:

Slim doesn’t even describe the New Orleans Saints’ chances at making the playoffs. There is just one path, and it could be erased before the Saints even take the field in Week 16.

The Saints close out league action versus the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football, so they’ll know exactly what they’re stepping into on game day.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers travel to Arlington, Texas to take on the Dallas Cowboys. If they are victorious, the Saints are eliminated from playoff contention. That’s also true if the Atlanta Falcons beat the New York Giants.

New Orleans wouldn’t have much to play for, but Darren Rizzi would still be trying to make his case to be the Saints head coach. The Saints are simply too prideful to tank, but it may be best to keep injured players like Alvin Kamara and Derek Carr off the field, health wise. Same goes for Chris Olave who had his return window opened this week.

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Saints rule out 4 ahead of Week 16 MNF showdown vs. Packers

No big surprises on the New Orleans Saints’ final injury report, but a few stars were ruled out ahead of Monday Night Football with the Green Bay Packers:

There aren’t many surprises on the New Orleans Saints’ final injury report of the week. Ahead of their game against the Green Bay Packers, the Saints ruled out four players and listed one as questionable.

Derek Carr, Alvin Kamara and Chris Olave were all ruled out, but that was the expected procedure for all three players. Darren Rizzi said Carr and Kamara were going to miss the Monday night matchup earlier this week.

Olave was designated to return from injured reserve, but a return to action this week shouldn’t have been expected.

Juwan Johnson and Chase Young elevated to full participants on Saturday and have no injury designation. Johnson followed this same path last week. He was limited the first two days of practice before being a full participant on the final day.

Bub Means was the last player ruled out, and the expectation is he will go back to injured reserve after a setback. The injury report closes out with Marquez Valdes-Scantling designated as questionable with a chest injury and illness.

Report: Saints may ‘want to hear’ what Deion Sanders has to say

Could Prime Time come to New Orleans? ESPN listed the Saints among NFL teams that may want to hear what Deion Sanders has to say:

Could Deion Sanders return to the NFL as head coach of the New Orleans Saints? Crazier things have happened, but Sanders leaving the Colorado Buffaloes and continuing to coach his son would be an unprecedented move. Shedeur Sanders is a top-flight quarterback prospect who has also been linked to the Saints in evened days.

But if we’re evaluating the elder Sanders’ candidacy on its own merits, there’s a lot to like. He went into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a player. As a college coach, he dominated the competition at Jackson State before moving to Colorado, where he’s gone 13-11 with nine wins in 2024. A jump to the NFL wouldn’t be shocking.

Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Saints are one of the teams that may be on his radar:

A few weeks ago, we broke down Deion Sanders’ NFL outlook. I’m bumping this again because a league source told me this about Sanders in recent days: “I think [NFL] teams will want to hear what he has to say.” So it wouldn’t shock to see the Jets or Saints or a team casting a wide net to at least reach out or do its research on him.

Now, that’s highly speculative, and it’s hardly the same as saying Sanders already plans on leaving Boulder for New Orleans. And just because there may be some interest it doesn’t mean that would be a two-way street. At this point Sanders should be busy recruiting and reloading his roster after a solid season ended with a Heisman Trophy in his protege Travis Hunter’s hands.

But the Saints need a coach after firing Dennis Allen, and they may need a quarterback if their next decision-maker doesn’t plan on staying the course with Derek Carr. The Saints could have a shot at filling both vacancies with Sanders family stars if they hold onto a top-10 draft pick. But there are three weeks left in the regular season, and things could change rapidly. Stay tuned in case the clock in New Orleans reads Prime Time.

Breaking down Packers’ final injury report of Week 16 vs. Saints

Breaking down the final injury report of Week 16 before the Packers take on the New Orleans Saints.

The Green Bay Packers ruled out defensive back Javon Bullard and linebacker Quay Walker and listed cornerback Jaire Alexander, cornerback Corey Ballentine, tight end Luke Musgrave and safety Evan Williams as questionable on the final injury report before facing the New Orleans Saints in Week 16.

How will the injury situation affect Monday night’s showdown?

Here’s an in-depth breakdown of the Packers’ final injury report ahead of Week 15:

Out (2)

DB Javon Bullard (ankle): The rookie defensive back didn’t practice all week for the second straight week and will miss another game. Expect to see Keisean Nixon in the slot again on Monday night. Matt LaFleur called this a week to week injury, so maybe Bullard will be back in time to play the Vikings next Sunday.

LB Quay Walker (ankle): As expected, Walker is out after injuring his ankle last Sunday night in Seattle. The Packers will go into Monday night with Isaiah McDuffie, Edgerrin Cooper, Eric Wilson and Ty’Ron Hopper as the four linebacker options.

Questionable (4)

CB Jaire Alexander (knee): He practiced in full all three days this week, but the Packers aren’t committed to him playing on Monday night just yet. It won’t be surprising if he plays and if won’t be surprising if he misses a fifth straight game. Carrington Valentine and Eric Stokes would be the expected starters outside if Alexander can’t go.

CB Corey Ballentine (knee): Ballentine played through this same injury last week. He was limited all this week but should be available against the Saints.

TE Luke Musgrave (ankle): The second-year tight end was limited all week but could return from missing the better part of three months with an ankle injury. He’d add a dynamic vertical threat if available, but expect a limited number of snaps behind Tucker Kraft.

S Evan Williams (quad): The Packers added Williams to the injury report on Saturday as a limited participant, which is always a bit of a worrisome sign. His potential absence combined with Bullard’s status would create problems in the defensive backfield.

No status designation

The Packers listed only six players on the final injury report, and all six have designations. Ten players were removed from the injury report entering Week 16.

Saints injury report

The Saints ruled out quarterback Derek Carr, running back Alvin Kamara, receiver Chris Olave and receiver Bub Means and listed receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling as questionable. Edge rusher Chase Young is off the injury report and will play. The Saints will be down their starting quarterback, best offensive weapon and best pass-catcher. Cornerback Paulson Adebo (the team’s best coverage corner), tight end Taysom Hill (the team’s most unique weapon) and receiver Rashid Shaheed (the team’s best deep threat) are on injured reserve.

Saints’ run defense has a daunting challenge ahead in Green Bay

Josh Jacobs, the NFL’s third-leading rusher, faces the Saints, the sixth-worst run defense, on Monday. Advantage: Packers

The Green Bay Packers have the ability to exploit the New Orleans Saints in their weakest area defensively: the run defense. The defensive line has been praised for their improvements since moving to Brian Young as the position coach, but those improvements are in the pass rush department.

New Orleans has the sixth-worst run defense in the NFL. They did a better job against Brian Robinson, but the degree of difficulty rises on Monday.

New Orleans will have to take on the task of stopping Josh Jacobs on Monday night. The temperatures are expected to be below freezing when the Saints step onto Lambeau Field.

Northerners will call that football weather. That’s up for debate, but you can expect the Packers to come out running the football.

Jacobs is the third-leading rusher in the NFL, behind only Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley. In addition to ranking third in rushing yards, Jacobs also has the third-most attempts and fourth-most rushing touchdowns in the league. The Packers use him frequently and efficiently. It’s vital that the Saints figure out how to slow him down. If he builds some momentum this one could get away from them in a hurry.

Saints and Packers looking to repeat performances in this category

The New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers don’t have much in common, but their defenses are both coming off high-sack performances:

The New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers are in two different places in many major categories. One’s headed to the playoffs, the other is headed to the couch. It’s safe to say they don’t share many similarities, but there is one thing that is similar coming into the game. Each team is coming off of a monster sack performance.

The Saints brought down the elusive Jayden Daniels on eight different occasions. Bryan Bresee, the Saints best pass rusher this year, surprisingly didn’t get in on the action. Chase Young and Cameron Jordan led the charge. Those two have come along recently

The Packers terrorized Geno Smith and Sam Howell last Sunday. Green Bay sacked the Seattle Seahawks quarterbacks seven times..

The Saints pass rush hasn’t been great this season, but that strong performance versus the Washington Commanders places them just outside of the top ten. Green Bay big game seats them just inside the ten highest sack totals in the NFL.

Each team is looking for a repeat performance from their productive pass rush, and that would go a long ways towards a win for whoever accomplishes the feat.

College Football Playoff: 2025 draft prospects to watch during Clemson vs. Texas

The top 2025 NFL draft prospects to watch during Clemson Tigers vs. Texas Longhorns College Football Playoff game on Saturday feature plenty of playmakers on each side of the ball:

The newly expanded College Football Playoffs have begun and it is providing another way to prepare for the 2025 NFL draft.

For teams like the New Orleans Saints, the NFL draft has already become the most exciting thing for the future. Watching these games could give some insight into who the next Saints players will be.

Up second on Saturday is the Clemson Tigers taking on the Texas Longhorns, a matchup full of NFL talent.

The top draft prospect in this matchup would be Longhorns offensive tackle Kelvin Banks. Banks is one of the best pass-blocking tackles in the country and is also more than solid in run protection.

Taliese Fuaga has been good at left tackle, but drafting Banks would allow him to move back to the right side where he has proven dominant.

A Day 2 prospect to watch is Tigers tight end Jake Briningstool. It’s clear that New Orleans’ offense needs another weapon at that spot and Briningstool has the tools that modern day tight ends possess.

He is a solid pass catcher that can get by with enough blocking ability. The senior has 1,311 career receiving yards and 17 touchdowns. He has a high ceiling that is certainly worth a look in the third round.

Closing things out with a Day 3 prospect, Clemson running back Phil Mafah would be an interesting pair with Alvin Kamara.

With shades of Kamara and Mark Ingram a few years ago, having one shifty back and another power back has come back in style. Mafah has had a breakout campaign after sharing the field with Philadelphia Eagles running back Will Shipley previously.

How to Watch

This game is one of the few college football games that won’t be played on ESPN this postseason. It will be aired on TNT as well as available to be streamed on Sling and Max.

Which teams should Saints fans be rooting for during the Week 16?

Which teams should Saints fans be rooting for during the Week 16? Here’s our game-by-game rooting guide before Monday Night Football:

The New Orleans Saints are now 5-9 on the season and the hopes of securing a playoff berth have become very slim. Although there’s still a chance, the path has become difficult, needing a lot of help from a couple of division rivals in order to punch their ticket.

With that said, many will be focused on offseason preparation and where the team could or might be picking in the round one in April. At the moment sitting with the tenth pick, there’s the potential for the team to move even higher, depending on how the next three weeks shake out.

Whichever way you may want it to go, either choice is understandable. For this exact reason, we’ve chosen to continue our breakdown of what teams you should be rooting for in Week 16 depending on the direction you would like to see the Saints go in. Here’s our rundown:

Path to the playoffs

The Saints path to the postseason has now narrowed down to one highly unlikely scenario, that would crown them champions of the NFC South for the first time in three seasons. Their path to attaining a Wild Card position has diminished which means that these three divisional games are the ones to keep an eye on this weekend and into Monday Night:

New York Giants at Atlanta Falcons:

The Atlanta Falcons simply must lose this weekend to keep the Saints chances alive. A win against the Giants this week would effectively eliminate the Saints regardless of what happens with Atlanta in the next few weeks. With that said, rookie Michael Penix Jr. is set to start this weekend which means anything could happen being that this is his first opportunity on the big stage.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Dallas Cowboys:

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers must lose against the Dallas Cowboys or the same would result in this case. A win by Tampa in Dallas would eliminate the Saints from contention giving them at nine wins on the year, a number the Saints cannot reach.

Improving upon draft stock

With such slim playoff hopes at this point in the season, the outlook on where the Saints will be picking in round one of the draft, becomes a more intriguing conversation. There are currently nine teams ahead of the Saints in the draft order but only seven of those teams can improve their stock. Here are a list of those teams, their opponents this week and the most optimal outcomes:

Carolina defeats Arizona

The Panthers are two games back (3-11) from where the Saints stand in the division, meaning that with three games to go they could potentially jump them at seasons end. A win against Arizona and a Saints loss brings them one step closer to that.

Cleveland defeats Cincinnati

The same goes here for Cleveland as they sit at 3-11, but have an uphill battle going against some of the leagues most explosive offenses in the next three weeks in Cincinnati, Miami and Baltimore. Hard to see them assisting the Saints with this stretch of games.

Jacksonville defeats Las Vegas

Jacksonville, another 3-11 team but has a much lighter schedule going forward, playing teams with a combined record of 11-31 in their last three matchups. Beating Las Vegas sets them up well for a late season run.

Tennessee defeats Indianapolis

Tennessee (3-11) has their entire division ahead of them going forward with games against Indy, Jacksonville and Houston. The Titans have lost their last three matchups against the Colts, all in which were one possession games. Some added motivation for them potentially this late in the year.

New England defeats Buffalo

The Patriots (3-11) have little chance to help the Saints this week and going forward, meeting the Bills (11-3) twice in three weeks and playing the Los Angeles Chargers (9-6) in between. But you never know, division games can get a little weird.

Chicago defeats Detroit

Maybe the toughest one on the list here so far. The Bears are sitting at 4-10 in the NFC North just one game behind the Saints but happen to be facing the leaders’ of their division as well as the leaders’ of their conference in the Detroit Lions (12-2). Defeating the Lions is the tallest task but they’re in for one heck of a stretch, taking on Seattle (8-6) and Green Bay (10-4) in the coming weeks.

New York defeats Los Angeles

The Jets are also just one game back from the Saints but also face the tough task of playing a couple of the leagues hottest teams. The team will see Los Angeles, Buffalo and Miami to finish out the year. Although the team has emphatically underperformed, they do have the talent to stay competitive against these opponents.

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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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