The New Orleans Saints’ injury list got a little more complicated this week, with starting left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. headed to injured reserve after ankle surgery and running back Audric Estime waived from injured reserve with an injury settlement.
Banks’ move comes after the Saints’ Week 2 road win over the Baltimore Ravens, and it leaves one of the team’s most important spots in flux. Estime’s exit, meanwhile, clears him to sign elsewhere once he’s healthy again.
The Saints don’t need to make a corresponding roster move, but the injury settlement approach helps cut down on medical workload and can trim a bit of cap space by paying only part of what a player would have been owed. In those cases, the player receives a lump sum based on the number of weeks he’s expected to miss.
That also means the Saints’ injured reserve picture now breaks into a few different buckets: players done for the year, players who can come back later, and players already designated to return.
The season-ending group includes DT Bryan Bresee, OL Dillon Radunz, RB Ty Chandler, CB Rejzohn Wright, TE Moliki Matavao, and CB David Long Jr. None of them can return this season after suffering injuries in training camp or the preseason. They’re still working with the team’s medical staff and rehabbing at the practice facility in Metairie rather than handling it on their own.
Estime is part of a separate set of players who have been released with injury settlements, along with fellow running back Devin Neal and rookie edge rusher Michael Heldman, who signed with the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad.
For players still eligible to return, the list starts with S Lorenzo Styles Jr. after Week 4, LS Zach Wood after Week 5, and Banks after Week 6. All three are eligible to come back this year once they’ve missed at least four games, though none has been designated to return yet. Styles is viewed as the closest to getting back, while Wood is expected to miss a month or more and Banks isn’t expected back until December at the earliest.
Two other Saints are already in the designated-to-return category: WR Jordyn Tyson and LB Jaylan Ford, both after Week 4. They were placed on injured reserve during roster cuts and can come back after sitting out four games, but the team is still waiting on their return timelines. Tyson’s outlook was the more serious one, with a recovery that was said to run into late October, though he was on the road with the team against the Ravens to support his teammates from the sideline.
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David also pointed to the broader division backdrop, where New Orleans spent years setting the tone under Sean Payton and Brees while Tampa Bay chased it. Even with the Buccaneers playoff win over the Saints standing out as a major turning point, David drew a sharp contrast between how New Orleans carried itself and the more muted approach he associated with other rivals, which says plenty about how deep the Saints-Bucs edge still runs. [Read more 🡒]
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Still, the matchup comes with more than a little uncertainty attached. Both clubs are dealing with injuries and trying to sort out defensive answers, and for New Orleans the biggest question may be how Shough handles the kind of pressure that a veteran coach and a well-schooled Raiders defense can bring. The Saints have reason to feel encouraged, but this game could turn on whether their young quarterback keeps the momentum going when the spotlight gets a little brighter. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Fans May Hate Where This Pass Rush Question Is Heading
The Saints pass-rush depth took another small but notable hit this week when Michael Heldman surfaced elsewhere, landing on the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad after his short New Orleans stint ended with an injury settlement and a waiver. It was a quick turn for the former rookie edge rusher, who had initially been one of the more modest investments the Saints made among their undrafted free agents before roster cuts and health concerns changed the equation.
Heldmans new number in Kansas City is 49, a reminder that the Saints are already watching a player they brought in to help chase quarterbacks continue his development somewhere else. For a New Orleans defense that is still sorting out who can consistently pressure the passer, moves like this tend to linger in the background, because even fringe additions matter when a team is trying to build enough edge depth to survive the long season. [Read more 🡒]