Saints Star Back Alvin Kamara Not Ruled Out Of Tampa Game Sunday With Rib Injury

New Orleans Saints' star running back Alvin Kamara was not ruled out of Sunday's NFC South home game against Tampa Bay despite not practicing Thursday or Friday because of a rib injury suffered in his team's win at Atlanta on Sunday.

Kamara, who gained 39 yards on nine carries and caught three passes for seven yards in the 26-24 win last week, was listed as questionable on the Saints' injury report released Friday afternoon. He had a limited practice on Wednesday.

"We'll just see how things play out," said Saints coach Dennis Allen, who will make his home debut as New Orleans' head coach Sunday.

In light of Kamara's injury, the Saints signed veteran running back Latavius Murray on Tuesday. Murray gained 501 yards with Baltimore last season. He played from 2019-20 with the Saints.

Saints running back Mark Ingram is also listed as questionable with an ankle injury. He was limited Wednesday through Friday. He gained 22 yards on four carries on Sunday.

Quarterback Jameis Winston (back) was also listed as questionable after practicing on a limited basis Wednesday through Friday. He is expected to play.

"I'm still getting over some first-game sorenes. You're sore, but you're back to work," Winston said.

"He seemed to be doing much better today," Allen said of Winston on Wednesday. "He was able to get out there and move around and looked good doing it."

Winston should play in the Superdome for the first time since tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee after a horse collar tackle by Tampa Bay linebacker Devin White during a 36-27 Saints' win on Oct. 31. Winston completed 6 of 10 passes for 56 yards with a touchdown against his old team, which made him the first player picked in the 2015 NFL Draft. He signed with the Saints as a free agent before the 2020 season when Tom Brady left New England to become a Buccaneer.

"Hopefully, I don't have to relive that moment again," Winston said of the knee injury. "That whole year was unfinished business. My goal is to finish this season."

JAMEIS WINSTON MESHING WELL WITH JARVIS LANDRY

Winston said he didn't realize he was done for the season just after the injury happened.

"Of course not," he said. "I tried to get back out there."

The only Saints player ruled out of Sunday's game on Friday was starting cornerback Paulson Adebo with an ankle injury. He did not practice all week. Starting defensive end Cam Jordan (hip) practiced fully on Friday and is expected to play.

The Bucs will be without starting wide receiver Chris Godwin (hamstring), and starting wide receiver Mike Evans (calf) is questionable. Backup wide receivers Breshad Perriman (knee) and Russell Gage (hamstring) are questionable. Starting running back Leonard Fournette (hamstring) is also questionable.

Brady has lost all four of his regular season games to the Saints since joining Tampa Bay. New Orleans won 9-0 at Tampa Bay last season, handing the seven-time Super Bowl winning Brady the first home shutout of his 23-year career while he was sacked four times.

"He's the best quarterback to ever play the game," Allen said.

And the oldest to ever start a game last week in the Bucs' 19-3 win over Dallas. Brady, who completed 18 of 27 passes for 212 yards with a touchdown last week, turned 45 on Aug. 3.

"If I'm still playing at 45," Saints linebacker Demario Davis said, "you all better come check on me."

Written by
Guilbeau joined OutKick as an SEC columnist in September of 2021 after covering LSU and the Saints for 17 years at USA TODAY Louisiana. He has been a national columnist/feature writer since the summer of 2022, covering college football, basketball and baseball with some NFL, NBA, MLB, TV and Movies and general assignment, including hot dog taste tests. A New Orleans native and Mizzou graduate, he has consistently won Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) and Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) awards since covering Alabama and Auburn at the Mobile Press-Register (1993-98) and LSU and the Saints at the Baton Rouge Advocate (1998-2004). In 2021, Guilbeau won an FWAA 1st for a game feature, placed in APSE Beat Writing, Breaking News and Explanatory, and won Beat Writer of the Year from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA). He won an FWAA columnist 1st in 2017 and was FWAA's top overall winner in 2016 with 1st in game story, 2nd in columns, and features honorable mention. Guilbeau completed a book in 2022 about LSU's five-time national champion coach - "Everything Matters In Baseball: The Skip Bertman Story" - that is available at www.acadianhouse.com, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble outlets. He lives in Baton Rouge with his wife, the former Michelle Millhollon of Thibodaux who previously covered politics for the Baton Rouge Advocate and is a communications director.