Injuries have hit NFL teams and fantasy football managers alike extra hard this season. Not only are players going down at an alarming rate, but injuries have been popping up throughout the week, and the progression has been less predictable than usual.
What is the latest on New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara’s rib injury? Is he playing in Week 6?
Will Alvin Kamara Be Active in Week 6?
The Saints’ RB1 has yet to miss a game this season, but that doesn’t mean Kamara has been fully healthy. He’s been on the practice report this week (and for the past few) with a ribs issue. Ahead of Week 6, Kamara also was listed as having a hand injury.
Kamara did not practice at all on Wednesday. Yet, he’s also a 29-year-old veteran who will get days off at practice even if he’s not injured.
On Thursday and Friday, Kamara got in limited sessions, meaning he did not practice fully all week. Thus, it’s quite clear he is operating at less than 100%.
With that said, Kamara is in no jeopardy of missing this week’s divisional showdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On Friday, the Saints did not give Kamara an official injury designation, which means that he will play.
Saints ruled out TE Taysom Hill for Sunday’s game vs the Bucs, but also removed RB Alvin Kamara and WR Rashid Shaheed from the injury report, so they’re good to go.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter)
Kamara’s Fantasy Outlook in Week 6
Obviously, whenever Kamara is active, he belongs in fantasy lineups. No one is considering benching him. But is he slated for a big game?
.@A_kamara6 runs a lot of yards to get nine 😂
📺: #NOvsKC on ESPN
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/DyybqaeodY— NFL (@NFL)
The Bucs have been an average matchup for opposing running backs. They are definitely more vulnerable through the air than on the ground, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing for one of the most gifted receiving backs of all time.
Kamara currently leads all running backs with a 21.7% target share. Even with Spencer Rattler starting in place of an injured Derek Carr, Kamara should be plenty involved.
It’s been an effective way to move the ball against this defense, as 19.5% of the total receiving yards allowed by the Bucs have gone to running backs, the sixth-most in the league.
Tampa Bay has yet to allow a receiving touchdown to a running back. However, that’s more random variance than anything else.
Kamara is the Saints’ clear goal-line back and top option near the end zone. With Taysom Hill also out, the risk of him vulturing Kamara touchdowns is gone. Kamara is fifth in the league red-zone touches.
Fantasy managers can expect another game with Kamara seeing heavy volume. As usual, he’s a high-end RB1.
