The worst thing to see before the first divisional matchup.
The New Orleans Saints have been dealing with so many injuries this season that it's honestly laughable. Before the season began, depth players and starters were dropping like flies, and since the games have started, this hasn't stopped. Around this time last year, players also started getting injured and really derailed parts of the season, and the latest is very worrying.
On today's injury report, Julian Blackmon, Barion Brown, Noah Fant, and Christen Miller were limited, while Kaden Elliss, Carl Granderson, Anfernee Jennings, and Pete Werner did not participate. Also, Martin Emerson was a full participant.
Let's focus first on the less worrying designations. Assuming the limited participants can play on Sunday, each brings something really important to the team. Brown's return is huge because this game needs it; Noah Fant's pass-catching was great last week and could be again; Blackmon is needed in this DB room; and Christen Miller could be a massive difference-maker against Bijan Robinson.
Now to the players that did not participate... yeesh! Both Elliss and Werner potentially being out for Monday's game is catastrophic. For the entire defense, and especially the run defense, these two players are needed for the Saints to have any success. Then, for the pass rush, it's less of a loss, but Granderson and Jennings are two players that do stay on the field. Those players have higher snap counts, and the Saints will need to find ways to replace them. With the pass rush already being an issue, Jennings and Granderson being out would make it even worse.
In response to these injuries, and Travis Etienne being placed on IR after his hamstring injury during Sunday's game, the Saints signed RB Ulysses Bentley IV and EDGE David Ojabo. Bentley IV is an undersized, elusive RB who plays similarly to Etienne, so that may be the closest thing to a replacement you can get; then, for Ojabo, he is a high-potential pass rusher. Since being drafted to the league, he has not reached that potential, but a shot-in-the-dark chance of him becoming a nice depth piece is great for the Saints to take. His run defense can be better, and again, he's still developing at 26 years old.
If Elliss, Werner, Granderson, and Jennings are out for Sunday's game, the Saints' chances of winning drop. It's still a very winnable game, but having your entire starting linebacker group and your second-best pass rusher out will make Brandon Staley's job much more difficult.
