The New Orleans Saints can not catch a break with injuries. Going into Week 18, there has been a massive number of starters and important depth players listed on the injury reports so far, and players are also being added to the IR every day.
A Depleted Saints Roster Loses Even More Players Going Into Week 18
The Saints won’t be competing for a playoff spot, but a win on Sunday is still extremely important; however, injuries may prevent that.
Today, the final injury report of the Saints’ 2025/26 season has been released, and it does not look good for their chances of winning on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. First, before getting to the listed players, WR Mason Tipton, TEs Jack Stoll and Zaire Mitchell-Paden, and CB Michael Davis were put on IR to end the season.
Next, looking at the injury report, DTs Bryan Bresee and Nathan Shepherd, RB Alvin Kamara, and WR Chris Olave were ruled out. These players confirm that QB Tyler Shough will be throwing to zero starting WRs, one starting TE, and have zero starting RBs in the run game. Talk about a challenge to overcome.
Among the questionable players were OG Dillon Radunz, QB Spencer Rattler, and LB Demario Davis.
Alvin Kamara is ruled out again, so he will not return from his injury this season. pic.twitter.com/sxQsrPWxMR
— Katherine Terrell (@Kat_Terrell) January 2, 2026
Time for the 7th-Round Rookies To Step Up
The Saints’ 2025 NFL Draft class is one of the best in the NFL, and probably New Orleans’ top class since 2017. OT Kelvin Banks Jr. looks like a franchise LT, Shough has been excellent as the starting QB, S Jonas Sanker and CB Quincy Riley are at least starters, RB Devin Neal looked great as RB1, and LB Danny Stutsman continues to make big plays as a depth piece.
The only question marks in this class are DT Vernon Broughton, who has been out for most of the year, and the 7th-round rookies, TE Moliki Matavao and EDGE Fadil Diggs. Both rookies have had limited playing time this season, but due to injuries across the roster, both will play on Sunday. Matavao will be TE2, and Diggs will be used sporadically throughout the game.
If Matavao can prove himself as a potential TE2 and Diggs can be impactful when on the field, these are two excellent depth pieces for the future.
