The New Orleans Saints face another week of monitoring their star running back’s health as they prepare for Sunday’s matchup against New England. Alvin Kamara continues dealing with the ankle issue that first appeared on the injury report in Week 6. With the veteran workhorse managing the concern through another week, should fantasy football managers have any concerns about his availability moving forward?
Alvin Kamara Injury Update
The veteran running back first appeared on the injury report during Week 6 preparations with an ankle issue that initially occurred during practice. What began as a practice injury has evolved into an ongoing maintenance situation that the Saints continue to monitor closely.
Kamara played through the ankle concern in Week 6 against the Patriots, demonstrating that the injury was manageable despite appearing on the injury report. He handled 15 touches while playing 62% of the offensive snaps, performing at a level that suggested the ankle wasn’t significantly limiting his effectiveness.
Head coach Kellen Moore had initially described the ankle issue as “nothing concerning” and characterized it as “a little something” during the week of preparation. The fact that Kamara was able to play through it last week validated Moore’s optimistic assessment of the injury’s severity.
Wednesday brought continued management of the ankle issue, as Kamara was a nonparticipant at practice. As a reminder, Wednesday practices are largely meaningless, especially for veterans like Kamara, who does not need extensive practice to play effectively on Sundays.
Beat reporters asked Moore if Kamara’s injury got worse during the game last week and Moore responded that it did not. This sure sounds like nothing more than routine maintenance. The ankle is definitely not 100% healthy, but it is not anything that will prevent Kamara from playing on Sunday.
Kamara Fantasy Outlook
Despite the ongoing ankle management, Kamara remains the Saints’ primary offensive weapon and continues to handle a significant workload when healthy. His ability to play through the ankle issue last week while maintaining his usual snap share demonstrates his durability and importance to the offense.
Kamara caught five passes against the Patriots last week, and that allowed him to pull another underwhelming game on the ground out of the flames for PPR managers (under 3.5 yards per carry in three of his past four).
For the season, he’s averaging under a yard per carry before contact, and that means what we’ve seen thus far is likely what we are going to see moving forward as this offensive line is struggling and the passing game isn’t exactly backing defenses off of the line of scrimmage.
Kamara hasn’t had a 25-yard run since September … of 2022. The 84.6% catch rate this season is great, but it’s needed. If his efficiency (or volume for that matter) drops off in any regard, this 30-year-old will be sitting outside of my top 30 at the position.
— PFSN Fantasy Analyst Kyle Soppe