The New Orleans Saints will have major holes to fill at running back and center after significant injuries.
Kendre Miller has a torn ACL, while Erik McCoy is done for the year with a torn biceps. Head coach Kellen Moore confirmed both injuries during his standard Monday press conference.
"It's really unfortunate," Moore said, "because I felt like both of those guys have been playing really good football."
It's another instance of brutal injury luck for the third-year running back, who has been snakebit by injuries since being drafted out of TCU in in 2023. Miller ran for 7 yards on his lone carry against the Bears before leaving due to injury.
The injury ends Miller's third season at 7 games and with 193 yards on 43 carries. He'll have played in 21 of 51 games over his first three seasons.
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McCoy will now miss a large chunk of games for the second consecutive season after a healthy start to his career. It's the second year he's dealt with a similar injury.
“It’s tough," Alvin Kamara said after the game, "especially when you go in there and you kind of get everything is just so routine, and you turn blind to certain things and I was in the huddle and I look up and I see Fortner, nothing against Fortner, I saw Fortner and I’m like, dang, what happened to E? ... You hate that, man, hate it.”
The Saints will be expected to turn to rookie Devin Neal for a significant role going forward at running back, while Luke Fortner will be expected to take over as the starting center. Moore also noted RG Cesar Ruiz and UDFA Torricelli Simpkins as potential options at the center position.
The Saints fell to 1-6 with their 26-14 loss to the Bears and return home this week for their first divisional matchup of the season against the Bucs.