Saints safety Rafael Bush reportedly suffers torn pectoral muscle
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The New Orleans Saints have absolutely no luck when it comes to injuries. Oh, wait I’m sorry — we already knew that. That’s right, another one bites the dust after safety Rafael Bush, who was filling in for the injured Jairus Byrd (knee), has reportedly torn his pectoral muscle.
This is indeed another big blow to an already struggling defense plagued by injuries, particularly in the secondary. Rafael Bush left during Sunday’s 31-19 loss to the Arizona Cardinals with a chest injury, and according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, it doesn’t look good.
Almost incredibly, another bad blow for #Saints secondary: Safety Rafael Bush tore his pectoral muscle yesterday, source said.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 14, 2015
Injuries are a part of football — they happen every day. But this team just cannot seem to catch a break. It’s one thing after another. Even with Byrd out, the Saints looked to be okay at the safety position, because of all the depth, but nope. Vinnie Sunseri was recently placed on injured reserve after clearing waivers, and now, Bush will be sidelined for an unspecified time. Torn muscles take time to heal.
With Rafael Bush going down, New Orleans reportedly re-signed veteran safety Kenny Phillips, who spent training camp and preseason with the club but was cut as part of the roster trim-down to 53 men.
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All eyes are on Jairus Byrd as his knee heals, but according to a report last week, he’s steadily improving and could be back in the lineup for Week 2 or 3. I’ll believe it when it a see it, but he is surely missed and Saints fans are getting fed up.
Since being signed to a blockbuster free agent deal a year ago, the once elite Byrd has played only four games in New Orleans after tearing his meniscus last October. On top of that, after limited participation at minicamp, he was sidelined for all of training camp and preseason because of discomfort in that same knee.
Saints secondary injuries:
Keenan Lewis (Hip) – 4-6 weeks
Jairus Byrd (Knee) – Return imminent?
P.J. Williams (Hamstring) – Season ending IR
Vinnie Sunseri (Undisclosed) – On IR
Rafael Bush (Pectoral) – No timetable yet
At the moment, that once promising secondary depth is no more. With Rafael Bush’s timetable unknown (probably a long time), stay tuned for more.