There was encouraging news for the Saints on Thursday as running back Alvin Kamara was back on the practice field, after missing practice all of last week with that injured knee.
I watched him at the Saints’ facility Thursday at practice, for the limited portion that is open to the media. He didn’t have a brace on the knee and it seemed like he could go ahead and run and be able to do some of the things that he needed to do in the early drills.
He was a limited participant on the injury report. I think he is working his way back to playing and you could kind of see that with the moves the Saints made earlier in the week – releasing Zack Zenner and bringing Kamara back and having that anticipation that he should play Sunday.
I do expect Kamara to practice again on Friday and he will probably be limited again, just to try to get him as much rest before playing in Sunday’s game. I do expect that he and Latavius Murray both in the backfield.
As for Drew Brees, he practiced for a second straight day and was limited on the injury report. I also got to see Brees at practice for the short session that media is allowed to see them and he was able to throw that football with that brace on his thumb. He has said that if he has any issues with gripping the ball or having accuracy issues, that he wouldn’t play. Otherwise, if those things are okay, he should be able to play.
Of course, Sean Payton said on the teleconference call with the media today that it’s going to be a day-to-day evaluation. Likely Payton will keep that close to the vest and not really say if Drew Brees is going to play right up until kickoff on Sunday.
So, we’re probably going into the game saying, Drew Brees could play, or Teddy Bridgewater could get the start. My inkling and my feeling is that I think Brees should sit for this game and get this week and the bye week and then come back for the Falcons, but knowing Drew Brees, if he wants to play and he’s good to go, I think he can talk his way into having Sean Payton letting him start.
As of now, it will be a watch, leading into Friday’s injury report where we’ll find out how much participation Alvin Kamara and Drew Brees has and probably have a good indication if they’ll play Sunday.