By Ross Jackson
NEW ORLEANS — With only two games left in the NFL regular season, it may make sense for players dealing with injury to simply be shut down for the rest of the year. For two New Orleans Saints stars, however, that will not be the case.
Interim head coach Darren Rizzi said that both starting quarterback Derek Carr and running back Alvin Kamara are working to make a return this season, even though there are only a pair of games remaining.
“We came out of the last few days with him getting a little bit better,” Rizzi said of Carr on his Tuesday conference call. “So I think at some point this week, we’re going to try to simulate what it would be like in a game and see if he’s able to function.”
If he is able to do the things that Rizzi and the medical staff want to see, the chance is there for Carr to make his return to the field.
If he made it back on the gridiron this upcoming week, it would be against his former team, the Las Vegas Raiders, which is sure to also be adding some additional motivation for Carr.
As for Kamara, apparently the running back was in Rizzi’s office Tuesday morning expressing his desire to return this season as well.
“I actually met with Alvin this morning,” Rizzi said. “Alvin is working his tail off to come back. That’s going to probably be for this coming week. It’ll probably be on one of those later in the week decisions with where he is in the rehab. I’m not speaking for Alvin, but Alvin told me this morning in my office that he really would like to play again.”
It’s a pretty great sign that two star players are working so hard and have the desire to get back for a team that has been eliminated from the playoffs. It shows that there is a lot of buy-in from the roster to finish the season off strong and as close to full-strength as possible.
