TL;DR
- Two key offensive players for the New Orleans Saints are listed as questionable for Their Week 9 matchup with the Los Angeles Rams .
- Running back Alvin Kamara is dealing with an ankle injury and wideout Rashid Shaheed has a hip issue.
- The two athletes practiced on a limited basis throughout the entire week prior to receiving the aforementioned dubious designation.
- That tag offers hope that Kamara and Shaheed will play, but it of course does not give us a definitive answer.
Two key offensive players for the New Orleans Saints are listed as questionable for Their Week 9 matchup with the Los Angeles Rams.
Running back Alvin Kamara is dealing with an ankle injury and wideout Rashid Shaheed has a hip issue. The two athletes practiced on a limited basis throughout the entire week prior to receiving the aforementioned dubious designation.
That tag offers hope that Kamara and Shaheed will play, but it of course does not give us a definitive answer.
Here's what's known regarding both players' statuses on Sunday.
Will Alvin Kamara be in the lineup for today's game?
Yes, he is expected to play today, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
"RB Alvin Kamara (ankle) and WR Rashid Shaheed (hip) are both listed as questionable and both are expected to play, sources say," Rapoport said.
Will Rashid Shaheed be in the lineup today?
The Rapoport report above confirmed Shaheed's Week 9 participation.
This indicates that rookie Tyler Shough will have his primary two wide receivers, Shaheed and Chris Olave, available for his debut NFL start.
Kamara: start or bench?
Kamara's season is proving to be quite disappointing compared to his usual performance, accumulating only 363 rushing yards and 147 receiving yards, resulting in ranked as RB31 overall fantasy points per game.
There's a few reasons for this.
The Saints' offense ranks among the league's worst, largely due to subpar quarterbacking from Spencer Rattler, which has significantly hampered the performance of all players on the New Orleans offense. Whether Shough can resolve that issue is uncertain, but it's likely he won't, at least not right away.
Kamara's usage has also been limited, as the team aims to increase Kendre Miller's involvement. Kamara's lack of passing-game usage has been stunning, also, and that has cut off another scoring stream for the veteran.
Miller's current status, which is out for the season, is expected to increase Kamara's responsibilities.
The Week 9 game versus the Rams presents a tough challenge, considering the Rams' defensive performance against running backs this season, allowing the third-fewest fantasy points per game.
We're completely in the dark regarding Shough's performance in his inaugural start, which makes Kamara a difficult player to consider for Sunday lineups, except in the most dire circumstances.
Verdict: Sit
Shaheed: start or bench
This season, Shaheed's fantasy points per game have placed him at WR40 overall, partly due to subpar quarterback performance impacting his output.
Now, we have the total wild card that is Shough, who is making his first NFL start against a vaunted Rams pass-rush.
Los Angeles is, however, just a middle-of-the-road team when it comes to giving up fantasy points to receivers, and the Saints might be chasing points in this contest, which would be a positive game script for Shaheed.
But none of that is enough to trust Shaheed in lineups, especially if we have options with better quarterback situations. Keep Shaheed on the bench this week and see how things play out with Shough.
Verdict: Sit