Saints running back Alvin Kamara (knee) is battling an MCL injury and could be trending toward missing his second game in a row.
Alvin Kamara Injury Report
Kamara popped up on the injury report last week, apparently having suffered a sprained MCL in New Orleans’ Week 9 loss to Atlanta. There was uncertainty throughout the week if he could play in the Saints-Titans game, but he was ultimately ruled out and veteran backup Mark Ingram II got the start.
This week, Kamara practiced on Wednesday in a limited capacity, but did not participate in Thursday's practice. It's unclear if this indicates he took a step backwards in his rehab or if the Saints are exercising an abundance of caution with their star running back. All eyes will be on the Friday practice report where Kamara will need to log at least a limited practice. Managers should find contingency plans for this weekend in case he does not practice again.
Kamara saw 13 rushes for 50 yards and a touchdown and caught four of seven targets for 54 yards in his last contest in Week 9 during when he suffered the injury. It was his fifth game this year (of eight) with at least 100 scrimmage yards.
Since taking over as the Saints’ lead back, he has missed just four games including last week. 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.
Worry-o-meter: 4 out of 5.
Alvin Kamara's Fantasy Outlook
If Active
Kamara is a must-start if active for the Saints-Eagles showdown. He had 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 Eagles' run defense ranks eighth-worst in the NFL against fantasy running backs and probably won’t put up much of a fight against Kamara’s multidimensional rushing style.
The Saints’ quarterback situation has been less-than-ideal since the loss of Jameis Winston. To his credit, Trevor Siemian has been serviceable and has five touchdowns to zero interceptions since taking over. Tepid QB play could work to Kamara's benefit given how pass-conservative the Saints may have to be.
I do have concerns about workload, especially with Ingram looking so good in Week 10. Even if the Saints were to ease Kamara back into action, however, he is a locked-in RB1 if starting.
If Inactive
If Kamara does not play — which seems increasingly possible given his Thursday DNP — Ingram would, once again, 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. Last week, he saw 14 carries for 47 yards and a touchdown and caught four of seven targets for 61 yards.
Ingram could be in store for a similar workload should Kamara sit again and would have high-end RB2 appeal based on his bell-cow role and matchup. Dwayne Washington, who backed up Ingram in Week 10, saw two carries for eight yards. Ty Montgomery also saw a carry, though neither are even close to being fantasy-relevant.
