The New Orleans Saints have been getting decimated by injuries in these last couple of weeks, and the blows just keep on coming. We were already looking at a significantly long injury report this week, and on that list, we noticed that the linebacker group was limping again. Unfortunately, young standout Pete Werner suffered an injury in practice and has already been ruled out for this week’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Pete Werner’s Absence Is A Blow For The Saints
Werner has been a startling linebacker for the team and his absence will almost certainly be felt. This is a group that will already be playing the undefeated Chiefs without Willie Gay, another starting linebacker. Thankfully, we are supposed to be getting Demario Davis back from an injury that sidelined him for the first game in his career last week. So, the linebacker group is going to be looking like it’s Demarrio Davis and D’Marco Jackson.
Now, if Davis wasn’t able to get onto the field this week, there would be a tremendous problem for this Saints roster. Gay is looking like he might miss another week or two down the line, and we don’t know the full extent of Werner’s injury that just popped up. Had Davis missed any longer, we wouldn’t know what to expect from the middle of this defense. What it does do is open the door for somebody like D’Marco Jackson to step up and prove that he deserves a spot on this unit moving forward. Here’s to hoping he can do just that.
No Kendre Miller Again
Sadly, that wasn’t the only negative injury news we heard as Saints fans. Along with the news that Werner wouldn’t even travel with the team on Monday night, young running back Kendre Miller was downgraded to doubtful for the game. Miller hasn’t played in a game this season due to an off-season injury, and he had been practicing all week after being activated from IR. All we’ve heard is that he’s looked great on the practice field, which makes it all the more surprising that he’s been downgraded and now is unlikely to appear.
The positive outlook on this situation is that Miller is being held out for precautionary reasons. We’ve already heard from head coach Dennis Allen himself that Miller can’t be a great player unless he’s on the field playing for them. Perhaps this could be a move to ensure that he’s fully healthy because the team desperately needs him out there. Alvin Kamara is dealing with a rib injury, Taysom Hill has battled numerous injuries through four games, and Jamaal Williams simply hasn’t looked explosive so far this season. Miller, if healthy, adds another element to an offense that is thin outside of their primary offensive weapons.
This wasn’t the news that we were hoping to hear ahead of their primetime matchup with the Chiefs, although it isn’t the end of the world. Us Saints fans believe that this is a team that could contend for a Super Bowl, especially given what we saw at the beginning of the season. If this team is truly a contender, then they’ll prove that they can, at the very least, hang around with the reigning champs.