Running back Alvin Kamara (knee) is battling an ominous injury that could hold him out of the Saints' Week 10 contest against the Titans.
Alvin Kamara Injury Report
Kamara has missed two practices in a row while dealing with a knee issue he apparently suffered in New Orleans' Week 9 loss to Atlanta. He saw 13 rushes for 50 yards and a touchdown and caught four of seven targets for 54 yards in the contest — his fifth game this year (of eight) with at least 100 scrimmage yards. He isn't quite on pace for 21 touchdowns like last season, but he is on pace to shatter his previous records for attempts and rushing yards.
Since taking over as the Saints' lead back, Kamara has missed just three games. In 2019, he dealt with ankle and knee injuries that caused him to miss two games and in 2020 he spent Week 17 on the COVID-19/reserve list.
Kamara's back-to-back absences from practice does not bode well for his Week 10 availability. All eyes will be on the Friday practice report, though managers should probably find contingency plans in case he does not practice again.
Worry-o-meter: 4 out of 5.
Fantasy Outlook If Active
Kamara is a must-start if active for the Saints-Titans showdown. He has scored in four consecutive games (five touchdowns) and has been fantastic all year for fantasy. He has only fallen shy of the top 25 mark in one contest so far (Week 2 at Carolina) and is RB4 on a per-game basis in half PPR.
The Titans' run defense is middle-of-the-road and probably won't put up much of a fight against Kamara's multidimensional rushing style.
The Saints' quarterback situation is less than ideal: Trevor Siemian will likely get the start once again, though I haven't a clue why. The team may use a QB committee with Siemian and Taysom Hill, which could come at a slight detriment to Kamara's upside. Even in light of these circumstances, Kamara is a high-end RB1 this week.
Fantasy Outlook If Inactive
If Kamara does not play — which seems very possible given his Wednesday and Thursday DNPs — Mark Ingram II would be in line to receive a huge workload boost. Ingram's role has already begun to grow since re-joining the team: He saw eight touches for 52 yards in Week 8 and 14 touches for 64 yards in Week 9. He could be in store for 20+ touches should Kamara sit and would have RB2 appeal based on workload alone.
Dwayne Washington would back up Ingram in that scenario. Washington has just one rush for five yards this year and would have zero appeal for fantasy.
