Sean Payton didn't give much away about the knee injury that will keep star running back Alvin Kamara out of action this week, but he did give some useful insight.
Kamara didn't practice all week and is listed "out" for Week 10 against the Tennessee Titans. Nickel corner CJ Gardner-Johnson and Terron Armstead were also ruled out on Friday.
It was unclear whether the injury occurred in the Week 9 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, but Kamara was experiencing significant soreness, particularly late in the game.
“It’s a knee injury that he’s rehabbing. Seeing if as quickly as he can get back," Payton said shortly before the team's injury report was released.
"Toward the latter part of the game [in Week 9] there was soreness, and there’s a play or two that you see that you could tell.”
Kamara finished the game without any notable issues, watching from the sidelines as the Falcons drove for a game-winning field goal in the final moments. With Kamara sidelined, it'll be on Mark Ingram to shoulder the load in the same game he likely sets the new Saints career record for rushing yards.
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To do that, he'll have to navigate a playing surface that's been observed by the Saints' coaching staff as a frequent slip and fall field. The team had a footing meeting this week, with the coaching staff showing players footage of players slipping in circumstances the Saints players would like to avoid. Payton said most of the footing issues have come with players wearing "molded" cleats, so the Saints will be wearing "screw-ins."
But Payton made it clear that concerns over the footing did not factor into Kamara's availability. As Payton has noted previously, the data show significant leg injuries tend to occur more often on artificial surfaces. He cited that data when discussing Jameis Winston's season-ended knee injury in Week 8.
"The grass is always safer,” Payton said. “It would never be a field decision.”
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