The Saints secondary took a hit today as starting safety Will Harris has been placed on injured reserve. Taking his place on the 53-man roster will be second-year running back Kendre Miller, who has been officially activated from IR today.
Harris and Miller have both been dealing with hamstring injuries. While Harris suffered his against the Chiefs on Monday, Miller is just getting healthy from his. Miller was a full participant in practice all week, while Harris did not participate at all. Hamstring injuries have a tendency to linger, hence keeping Harris out for at least four games.
Harris is in his sixth year of NFL football and is playing his first season outside of Detroit. The veteran defensive back has never been a game-changer on the field, but he has been consistently available and a dependable starter. This will be Harris’ first instance of extended missed time. Since getting drafted by the Lions in 2019, Harris has only missed two of a possible 88 games, starting 45 of those contests.
Without Harris on defense, the Saints will likely turn to second-year safety Jordan Howden to play next to Tyrann Mathieu in the defensive backfield. Howden started seven games for New Orleans last year as an injury replacement for Marcus Maye. In a worst-case scenario, the Saints roster veteran Johnathan Abram as a backup behind Howden on the practice squad.
Miller should replace Jordan Mims as the RB3 behind Alvin Kamara and Jamaal Williams in his return to play. As a third-round rookie last year, Miller finished fourth on the team in yards and carries behind Kamara, Williams, and Swiss Army weapon Taysom Hill.
In addition to the IR transactions, the Saints also announced that Abram and offensive guard Chris Reed will be called up tomorrow as standard gameday practice squad elevations. Abram and Reed will be relegated back to the practice squad after tomorrow’s contest.