The worst case scenario for the New Orleans Saints after their Week 2 victory was to hear Kelvin Banks Jr. was out for the season. Kellen Moore couldn't give fans an update right after the game, but once the update came, fans wish they never heard it. Though it wasn't quite the worst case scenario, it was pretty close, and now Moore has to figure out how to protect Tyler Shough's blind side.
Banks suffered a severe high ankle sprain that'll require surgery. NewOrleans.Football's Nick Underhill reported the earliest Banks is expected to return is in 10 weeks. That's a huge chunk of the season, but the biggest difference between this and season ending, other than literal time, is Banks would be back if the Saints made a playoff push.
Week 2 is a bit early to start predicting playoff pushes for the team, but the tone around the team is that's their standard. We've regularly talked about them as a team that could win the division as well, so it's par for the course to discuss Banks being back for a playoff game or at least that final stretch of the season that'll determine their fate.
Saints' best options are Asim Richards or hitting free agency for Taylor Decker
When Banks went down, Asim Richards stepped in. It's doubtful the Saints trade for anyone right away. They aren't going to trade capital for another team's starter, and if they're only going to pursue another team's backup if their in-house option struggles.
Trade isn't the only way to secure a left tackle. Taylor Decker is on the market because he requested his release from the Detroit Lions. Surprisingly, no one has picked him up, but the Saints make a lot of sense for him.
The two biggest benefits of picking up Decker are experience and price. It costs no draft picks to grab Decker, which makes it an automatic win over trading for a player. Banks is your starting left tackle of the future, so whoever the Saints pick up would be nothing more than an interim solution.
The other part is you're not going to find a player more experienced than Decker. He's spent the last 10 years as the Lions starting left tackle. The Saints simply aren't going to find that experienced of a player available to them.
Even with those benefits, it shouldn't be surprising to see Richards hold that role for at least this week. He stepped in and didn't look like a liability during his snaps versus Baltimore.
There's naturally going to be some worry still, and that worry will provide him with a short leash. It may not rule him out from having first dibs. Even if the Saints do pick up Decker, he likely won't be ready to go right away.
The left tackle is too valuable to work with a liability, especially with all the investment the Saints have made into their offense recently. The Saints should be proactive in securing the best option possible to replace Banks. That could be Richards, Decker or a different option we have looked at, but it has to be somebody trustworthy to keep this train rolling.
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