Alvin Kamara’s name popped up frequently in trade talks before the deadline earlier this week. However, the 1-8 New Orleans Saints didn’t move him because he said he’d rather go somewhere and drink pina coladas before joining a new team.
Despite staying with the team that drafted him, Kamara has popped up on the injury report and is questionable to play in the team’s Week 10 matchup against the Carolina Panthers. Even though the Saints are ranked 29th in PFSN’s Offensive Impact metric, he remains vital to the team, despite not being as electric as he was in recent years.
Is Alvin Kamara Playing This Week?
Saints head coach Kellen Moore announced several injury designations for their Week 10 matchup against the Panthers.
Popping up on the injury report was none other than the 30-year-old running back Kamara, who is questionable with an ankle injury. Kamara has already been managing a heavy workload this season in both the run and pass game, being utilized evenly in both.
Any limitation to his mobility directly impacts how efficiently the Saints can operate offensively; therefore, the ankle injury is a little concerning.
Taliese Fuaga (ankle) is ruled out, per Kellen Moore.
Five questionable: Alvin Kamara (ankle), Jack Stoll (ankle), Jonah Williams (shoulder), Barry Wesley (hip) and Bryan Bresee (back)
— Matthew Paras (@Matthew_Paras) November 7, 2025
The injury has been lingering in the past weeks, and he has remained limited in practice throughout the week. While the injury hasn’t kept him off the field in past weeks, his effectiveness has been significantly reduced.
Last week against the Los Angeles Rams, Kamara recorded 14 rushing yards on six attempts. He added three yards on one reception.
In Week 8, he recorded 21 yards on six rushes against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and added two receptions for 24 yards.
In fact, Kamara hasn’t rushed for more than 10 yards on a single play since the team’s Week 5 game against the New York Giants. Additionally, he’s only rushed for more than 45 yards twice this season.
If Kamara can’t go this week, the team will rely on running backs Devin Neal and Audric Estime.
Neal was selected in the sixth round of the 2025 Draft from the University of Kansas. In the regular season, he’s only rushed the ball six times for 21 yards.
Another option is Estime. Estime was just called up from the practice squad to the active roster after the team had open spots from trading Rashid Shaheed and Trevor Penning before the deadline.
Estime is yet to record any playing time this year, however, last year the University of Notre Dame alum rushed the ball 76 times for 310 yards and two touchdowns.
