A week after his record-tying Christmas Day performance, Alvin Kamara faces the prospect of missing the Saints’ playoff opener.
The star running back tested positive for COVID-19 Friday, according to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.football (on Twitter). Kamara took another test, and it came back positive, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Kamara did not practice Friday.
Kamara is not symptomatic, according to Underhill (on Twitter). The Saints went to the playoffs in each of Kamara’s first three seasons; he did not miss any of those games. The former third-round pick has only missed three regular-season games in his career.
Should Kamara remain asymptomatic, he will be cleared to play in New Orleans’ first playoff game — should that game occur on Sunday, Jan. 10, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. The NFL has a new playoff schedule this year; three wild-card games will occur on Saturday and Sunday. Should the league slot the Saints as a Sunday team — if, in fact, they do not obtain the No. 1 seed — Kamara has a chance to play.
The Saints have a chance at home-field advantage in the NFC, which becomes more important now. The Saints have won one road playoff game in franchise history, but securing the bye now would limit the chances Kamara misses a postseason game. A three-way tie atop the conference between the Saints, Packers and Seahawks would give New Orleans its second No. 1 seed in three seasons. This would mean a Green Bay loss and a Seattle win Sunday, in addition to New Orleans defeating Carolina. However, the Packers are favored to beat the Bears this week and clinch the top spot.
Kamara rushed for six touchdowns in Week 16, tying Ernie Nevers‘ 91-year-old record, and leads the NFL with 21 total TDs. He battled ankle trouble in 2019 but missed just two games. He has played all 15 of the Saints’ contests this year and established a new career high with 1,688 scrimmage yards. The Saints earning the No. 2 seed — which they would if the current spots hold — would mean a matchup with the Rams, Cardinals or Bears in Round 1. As it stands, Latavius Murray (656 rushing yards; five total TDs) would start in that game.
The Saints, however, have navigated this season without key players at multiple junctures. Michael Thomas remains on IR and has missed much of the season due to ailments and a suspension. Drew Brees missed four games because of cracked ribs and a punctured lung but has since returned. This Kamara situation will be more of the same for New Orleans, which endured a first-round upset with Kamara, Brees and a healthy Thomas last season.
Selfish
how u know that??
You think he picked it up being cautious and staying at home? Cmon man
I love the comment section!!
You think masks work?
you’re assuming everyone around him ad following rules but him?
This is nonsense. Plenty of people have been reckless and been lucky not to get it. Plenty of people have been cautious and gotten unlucky. Getting or not getting the virus cannot a single data point report card on someone’s behavior.
Furthermore, vilifying every person who gets it is a great way to discourage people from being honest and accountable when it comes to things like contact tracing, which will make it even harder to limit and contain exposure.
This sort of comment is both wrong and actively counterproductive to public health.
Contact tracing is as much of a joke as testing.
Contact tracing isn’t a joke in the countries that have actually gotten this pandemic under control.
Since it’s FREQUENTLY asymptomatic, plenty have had it and since they weren’t tested, recovered and feel just fine. Quarantine the at risk and let the healthy make a living.
Yeah, those people can still help spread it, a lot of at risk people don’t know they’re at risk until it’s too late, and a lot of “the healthy” can’t stay healthy if everyone acts like the thing killing thousands of people is trivial.
Asymptotic spread is a pretty low chance, but some are Corona-Bro’s who cling to anything to confirm their bias.
Most of the confirmation bias I’m seeing is from people who refuse to accept any evidence that the pandemic is even real and needs to be taken seriously.
I must have been selfish too, when all I did was go to work and to the store for essentials and still got it…
It’s a virus, you can get it anytime anywhere. He is not Haskins going to the strip club.
So if you’re asymptomatic you’re quarantine is shorter?
A lot of fantasy players are happy this didn’t happen until after the fantasy championship game…