Alvin Kamara was limited with an ankle injury he suffered during practice on Wednesday. Kellen Moore isn't concerned about the New Orleans Saints running back in the long term.
You never want to see a player of his caliber go down, but all signs point to the injury being minor. That's a big relief as Kamara is on pace for his first 1000 yard rushing season. It feels like something always goes wrong when we start talking about that. Hopefully this isn't one of those times.
The one reason for fans to be spooked is the injury happened during the week. NewOrleans.Football's Nick Underhill reported the injury "isn't anything serious." The expectation is for Kamara to be day-to-day. That could still extend to Sunday's game versus the New England Patriots.
Ask Chase Young. Nothing serious doesn't guarantee immediate return
Chase Young's calf injury was nothing serious, once upon a time. In the present moment, he's missed five games, with a sixth on the table. Young, like Kamara, saw his injury happened during the practice week.
Understanding that day to day on an injury that happened midweek could extend to the following Sunday isn't difficult to understand. Honestly, even missing the next week was understandable, because that's a week and a half recovery process. Five weeks is another story. This isn't saying Kamara is headed down the same path as Young, just that nothing serious can still result in a missed game when it happens in the middle of the week.
Saints can always turn to Kendre Miller if Alvin Kamara misses time
That's the major difference between Kamara's injury and Young's injury. The Saints have a back up plan. Yes, you could point to Carl Granderson, but there was always going to be two edge rushers on the field. The correct player to identify is Cameron Jordan. While the legend has been productive, Young's injury put him into a bigger role than desired.
None of that is an issue with Miller. The third year player is Kamara's running mate and is seemingly ready for a larger role. Earlier this week, we took a look at Miller emerging as a worthy successor to Kamara. Holding it down for a game or two would be the best way to prove that.
At the worst, Miller has shown the effectiveness on a small but large enough sample size to be interested in what he would look like with 15-20 carries. Kamara missing a game would also likely make Devin Neal active for the first time since Week 1. Then again, maybe it's truly nothing serious.
Editor's note: Kamara's injury was suffered during Sunday's game. Underhill reported Kamara felt soreness today and was taken out as a precaution.