For the New Orleans Saints, the news isn’t all bad: Welcome back, Alvin Kamara! We’ve missed you.
The Saints’ starting rushing back can now play again after serving a three-game suspension as of Monday. Since the Monday after the preseason finale against the Texans, he hasn’t been with the team.
So how did Kamara enjoy himself? He had a fantastic video prepared, complete with floating heads of Derek Carr and Dennis Allen over a clip of a man being released from jail with the message “first day out.”
The Saints fared quite well without him, defeating the Titans and Panthers before suffering a humiliating loss to the Packers in a contest they were leading 17-0 in the fourth quarter. The team is also dealing with Derek Carr’s shoulder issue, which will likely cause him to miss some time.
Even without Carr, Kamara’s return should give the offense more oomph since it has been too frequently mired in mud the previous two seasons. The Saints defense has limited opponents to 20 points or fewer in 11 straight contests, but the team is 6-5 during that stretch.
When Kamara makes his debut against the Buccaneers at the Caesars Superdome in a crucial NFC South game, Winston is most likely to be at center. With a Monday Night Football game against the Eagles, the Buccaneers are 2-0 while the Saints and Falcons are also 2-1.
Winston remarked, “You get excited whenever you get to work with a future Hall of Famer, as he is.”