The New Orleans Saints have their second NFC South divisional game of the season, and this time, it will be against the Carolina Panthers. For the first time since the Saints’ win against the New York Giants, New Orleans has a winnable game, but new news may have just made that much harder.
Offensive Cornerstone Ruled Out for Sunday’s Game
Throughout this week, the Saints have had a fairly lengthy injury report, which has been a primary concern. One player’s presence on the injury report caused by far and away the most considerable amount of worry for Sunday’s game, and that was OT Taliese Fuaga. The second-year offensive lineman is one of the most important pieces on the offense, and today, it was announced by HC Kellen Moore that Fuaga is ruled out for week 10.
In his place, tackle Asim Richards, whom the Saints traded for right before the season, will start.
Moore also confirmed that it would be Asim Richards starting at RT in place of Tali Fuaga. https://t.co/vgbcjU8enC
— Luke Johnson (@ByLukeJohnson) November 7, 2025
What Fuaga’s Absence Means for Saints
This season, Fuaga has been dealing with constant injuries. Per PFSN’s Player OL Impact metric, the second-year tackle ranks #92 in snaps among all offensive linemen. Clearly, he has not been able to stay healthy, but when he is, Fuaga has one of the most demanding jobs on the roster.
Both tackles on the Saints roster are given the task of blocking the opposing Edge on an island while also helping the guards if needed. Given the disappointing performance of the interior offensive line, this adds to the grueling work the Fuaga and Kelvin Banks have to do. This is not something every tackle can do, so with Fuaga being out on Sunday, that will be a massive worry.
When the Saints made the trade for Richards before the season, it looked like a great deal because you never know how offensive line injuries pop up. The situation with Fuaga being out is exactly why Richards is on the roster, but he is going to have a task on Sunday that could get ugly fast.