The New Orleans Saints have lost yet another player to injury.
In what has been a disappointing season thus far for the Saints, they are down another member of their offense.
#Saints RB Mark Ingram suffered a slight tear of his MCL in the loss to the #Bucs, sources say, knocking him out indefinitely and likely ending his season. He’s out 4-6 weeks, but no surgery. With the regular season only being five more weeks, Ingram is almost certainly done.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 7, 2022
After tearing his MCL, Mark Ingram is likely out for the rest of the season.
Over the past two games, Ingram had seen a 30% and 42% snap share, effectively taking time away from the lead back, Alvin Kamara.
Prior to the emergence of Ingram, Kamara was playing over 70% of the Saints’ offensive snaps and imposing his will on opposing defenses.
With the unfortunate news of Ingram’s injury, will Kamara return to his dominant self?
Next Man Up?
After Ingram on the depth chart is Dwayne Washington, who has only received 11 carries in the 12 games that he has played this year for the Saints.
Interestingly enough, Washington has averaged 3.5 yards per carry.
While this is certainly a small sample size, Washington’s effectiveness could prove useful for the Saints, particularly as a change-of-pace option for Kamara.
With the Saints likely out of playoff contention with a record of 4-9, now is an opportune time for them to see what they have in Washington.
This Sunday, the Saints will play the Atlanta Falcons, who allow 129.5 rushing yards per game.
If there was ever an opportunity for Washington to prove himself in the NFL, it would be this week against the Falcons.
Will Kamara emerge as the Saints lead back once again?
After being taken off the field in favor of Ingram the past few weeks, we’ll see what his role looks like this week.
