By Ross Jackson
METAIRIE, La – Five players did not participate in Thursday’s practice for the New Orleans Saints. The good news is that a couple of those players could still be available for Monday’s matchup with the Green Bay Packers. The bad news, however, is that some key players don’t look to be trending towards getting back on the field this week.
Here is the information from Thursday’s injury report:
New Orleans Saints
Did Not Practice:
QB Derek Carr (Left Hand/Concussion)
WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling (Chest)
WR Bub Means (Ankle)
RB Alvin Kamara (Groin)
DE Chase Young (Illness)
Limited Participation:
WR Chris Olave (Head)
TE Juwan Johnson (Foot)
Full Participation:
CB Kool-Aid McKinstry (Shoulder)
Olave’s return to practice is a huge positive for the young wideout and for the Saints. While things may not progress quickly enough for him to be back on the field against Green Bay, the fact that he was out there and working with training staff off to the side is still a major development. Since suffering a pair of confirmed concussions this season, Olave’s immediate future has been very uncertain. Though he may not make it back to the active roster this year, this is a great sign for his upcoming 2025 campaign.
The Saints are still very much keeping the door open for Carr to return, and that includes this week. While rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler is in line to start if Carr cannot go, New Orleans will leave every shot for their starter to return to the lineup once he is able. Though it does seem unlikely that this week will be the time.
Interim head coach Darren Rizzi said that Kamara’s groin injury is more substantial than initially thought. He added that the injury “doesn’t look great” for the running back’s availability this week. That should put second-year rusher Kendre Miller firmly in the run game’s spotlight in Green Bay. Kamara is just 50 rushing yards shy of his first 1,000 career rushing yard season.
As for Valdes-Scantling and Young, their outlook for the game is positive. Young is managing an illness rather than an injury, much like Kamara did early last week. Valdes-Scantling was held out of practice, but Rizzi stated that he probably could have gone, but the team chose to play it safe.
Green Bay Packers
Did Not Practice:
LB Quay Walker (Ankle)
S Javon Bullard (Ankle)
Limited Participation:
CB Corey Balentine (Knee)
TE Luke Musgrave (Ankle)
Full Participation:
CB Jaire Alexander (Knee)
The Packers are on their way to getting healthy. Alexander and Musgrave are two big improvements for their lineup.
Alexander was a full participant in the Packers’ first two practices each of the last two weeks as well. However, he was downgraded on each Friday as a non-participant before ultimately being inactive in both games.
Musgrave was designated to return from Injured Reserve last week and looks to be continuing his trajectory to getting back on the field.
Walker, who was injured in last week’s game against the Seattle Seahawks, will be another core piece of the Green Bay defense to track throughout the week.
