The Saints are getting banged up early in the season.
The New Orleans Saints' hot start cooled off a bit on Sunday, as their offense was stifled by the Philadelphia Eagles in a 15-12 loss. During the game, the Saints suffered a plethora of injuries that could affect them over the coming weeks.
Star running back Alvin Kamara did not practice during the part of the session that was open to the media on Wednesday, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. A couple of other key contributors also missed the session or were limited participants.
“Injuries piling up for Saints: RB Alvin Kamara, C Erik McCoy, G Cesar Ruiz and CB Alontae Taylor all absent from the portion of practice open to media Wednesday,” Pelissero reported on X, formerly Twitter. “LB Demario Davis watched in a jersey but didn’t participate. Taysom Hill and DT Khalen Saunders participated.”
McCoy had surgery on a groin injury that will keep him out for six-to-eight weeks, so his absence comes as no surprise. Ruiz (knee) and Davis (hamstring) would both be major losses if they are unable to go in the Saints' Week 4 clash against the Falcons. Taylor (illness) would also be a big loss after recording 3.5 sacks from the cornerback position over the first three weeks.
Are the Saints contenders or pretenders?
The Saints took the league by storm over the first two weeks of the season, scoring 40+ points in blowout wins over the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys. They cooled off significantly on Sunday, mustering just 12 in a loss to the Eagles.
Despite a humbling reality check on Sunday, there are still reasons to be encouraged about the Saints. Their defense played very well against an Eagles offense that had success early in the season. New Orleans sacked Jalen Hurts four times and forced two turnovers from the Eagles quarterback in plus territory to allow them to hang around in the game.
The offense wasn't pretty, but some regression to the mean was expected. The explosive plays that Derek Carr was connecting on with Rashid Shaheed in the first two games were narrowly missing on Sunday in a game where one of those plays could have changed the outcome.
The injuries to McCoy and Ruiz along the offensive line are certainly concerning, and could limit the Saints' ability to run the ball moving forward. On top of that, Derek Carr still has to prove that he can play at a high level consistently throughout a whole season. The Saints haven't proven enough to be contenders at this point in the season, but they shouldn't be written off yet either.
