Canal Street Chronicles
Today is the first day of the New Orleans Saints minicamp, and for the most part, the team has avoided the injury plague. Last year, this was the case as well after restructuring the athletic testing/health staff, and hopefully that can continue moving forward. Still, injuries happen- that’s just football- and one room that must avoid them is the RBs.
This group was plagued by injuries last season, so moving in a positive direction health-wise is important. Well, today Kellen Moore announced that Devin Neal suffered a minor injury last week and is undergoing rehab.
With how close the RB position battle could be with Alvin Kamara staying with the Saints, being available could be the factor in winning a spot. As of now, Travis Etienne and Kamara are the two guaranteed spots, and if the Saints follow their previous 53-man roster structure, two RB openings are left. Besides Etienne and Kamara, the other RBs on the roster are Neal, Kendre Miller, Audric Estime, CJ Donaldson, and Ty Chandler.
Among that group, there are three RBs who are likely candidates to fill the opening: Miller, Neal, and Estime. Donaldson and Chandler still have a chance, but let’s say it comes down to the three I mentioned before. Estime is the only RB currently healthy among that group, and if that stays true, he could have a spot ready for him come week 1. Then, the battle goes down to Miller and Neal.
Miller has been severely injured throughout his career, but there is obvious talent. He is still in the recovery process after his season-ending injury last season, so Miller would need to prove he can come back healthy and stay that way. That is a bit of a long shot, but it could happen.
For Neal, his injury seems minor, but if it lingers or becomes recurrent, the battle between him and Miller becomes much closer.
