As Week 9 nears, the New Orleans Saints have seen their injury report take a step back after looking very healthy last week.
The Carolina Panthers have been seeing lengthy reports themselves as of late. Both teams have some banged up positions and players, but both are also seeing some improvements in other areas. This will be an eventual week of injury report fluctuations headed into the showdown in Carolina.
Here is the information from both team’s injury reports following their first practices of the week.
New Orleans Saints
Did Not Participate:
WR Cedrick Wilson Jr. (Hip)
WR Bub Means (Ankle)
CB Marshon Lattimore (Hamstring)
RB Kendre Miller (Hamstring)
S Tyrann Mathieu (Illness)
CB Rico Payton (Back)
Limited Participation:
QB Derek Carr (Oblique)
CB Kool-Aid McKinstry (Hamstring)
RB Jamaal Williams (Groin)
RB Alvin Kamara (Hand/Rib)
G Nick Saldiveri (Shoulder)
TE Juwan Johnson (Shoulder)
Full Participation:
LB Nephi Sewell (Designated To Return From IR – Knee)
G Shane Lemieux (Designated To Return From IR – Knee)
It’s another tale of a little bit of good news and bad news for the Saints on Wednesday. Getting Carr back should help their offense run more reliably and efficiently. Though the protection and playmaking around him will be pivotal. But on the defensive side, New Orleans is managing several injuries in their secondary.
Mathieu missing with illness brings a big sigh of relief, but with Lattimore and Payton missing and McKinstry limited with injuries, the team’s cornerback room may be limited a bit come gameday. Thankfully for New Orleans, the Panthers don’t really seem to have any viable scoring threats at wide receiver as their young guys develop. That could work to the Saints’ benefit.
With Lemieux and Sewell working their way back from Injured Reserve, the team is set to return more reinforcements in the coming weeks.
