Alvin

Kamara

Kamara has been sidelined since suffering an MCL sprain in Week 12. He played through a multi-week ankle injury before that. Kamara was the subject of early-season trade rumors, but the lifelong Saint reportedly made clear that he wanted to remain in New Orleans. Kamara has one year remaining on his contract, but he may be replaced as the team’s starter in 2026. He was surprisingly phased out of the passing game, while active, in head coach Kellen Moore’s first season. This year, Kamara rushed 131 times for 471 yards and one touchdown, while catching 33-of-39 targets for 186 yards.

The team opted not to place Kamara on injured reserve, though he has been sidelined since Week 12. Unless something drastic occurs, Saints RB Audric Estime will start in Kamara’s stead against the Falcons on Sunday. Both teams have been eliminated from the playoffs, but it still gives coaches a chance to evaluate key players one last time.

Kamara has neither practiced nor played since spraining his MCL in Week 12. He was already dealing with an ankle injury at that time. We expect him to remain sidelined in Week 18 against the Falcons. Saints RB Audric Estime will again operate as the team’s starter.

This leaves RB Audric Estime as the nominal starter, though TE Taysom Hill logged 16 touches to Estime’s eight last week. The Saints apparently wanted to feature Hill in Week 16, in what could be his final home game as a Saint. Projecting each player’s Week 17 role is difficult. Neither one should be considered a confident play, though the Titans’ defense is unimposing.

Kamara will likely miss the remainder of the season with the knee and ankle issues. He hasn’t played since Week 12 and the Saints have been out of the playoff hunt for a while. They are only playing for a better draft pick at this point. With Kamara presumably out this week, Taysom Hill figures to lead the team in carries once again. He saw 12 rush attempts last week. Hill also caught four passes and threw one, a long touchdown to Chris Olave. He has entered the TE1 mix ahead of fantasy football championship week.

Audric Estime is expected to function as the Saints’ lead back against the Jets with Kamara sidelined, though Evan Hull will mix in on passing downs. Estime can be played as a touchdown-dependent flex option in 12-team leagues while Hull is a desperation play in deeper formats.

Kamara has not played since Week 12, and the Saints placed his backup, RB Devin Neal, on injured reserve with a hamstring injury this week. New Orleans Football’s Nick Underhill believes RB Audric Estime will “probably” start this week against the Jets. He did not pan out as a fifth-round draft pick with the Broncos, but he flashed intriguing traits last week could receive the requisite touch volume for FLEX viability.

Kamara remains sidelined and RB Devin Neal (hamstring) was placed on injured reserve. Brutal. This leaves the Saints with RBs Evan Hull, Audric Estime and Nyheim Hines. Hines could play on passing downs but he has done very little in recent seasons. The Saints face the Jets this week.

Bummer. His season is over. Neal was playing well in RB Alvin Kamara’s (ankle/knee) stead. Neal can be expected to contribute next year, though he may not have done enough to convince the coaching staff that he deserves to be the 2026 starter. The 22-year-old rookie rushed 57 times for 206 yards and two touchdowns, and caught 17-of-19 targets for 104 yards in his first season with the Saints.

Saints rookie RB Devin Neal (hamstring) has been starting in Kamara’s stead, but Neal has already been ruled out this week. That leaves RB Evan Hull and RB Audric Estime to potentially compete for the starting role. Estime notably outplayed Hull last week. If Kamara can return, expect him to handle a sizable workload. The Saints face the lowly Jets this week.