Brett Duke / Associated Press
The New Orleans Saints will reportedly be without backs Alvin Kamara, Latavius Murray, Michael Burton and Dwayne Washington against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
According to Fox’s Jay Glazer, Murray, Burton, Washington and fullback coach Joel Thomas have been placed on the reserve / COVID-19 list after Kamara was placed on the list on Friday.
Glazer noted that the Saints will call Ty Montgomery back after the return of a wide receiver and call up a run-up training group for Sunday’s game.
Kamara comes off the game of his life as he hit 155 yards and an NFL record fight six times in a 52-33 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Christmas Day.
On the season, Kamara rushed for 932 yards and 16 touchdowns while hitting 83 passes for 756 yards and five touchdowns.
Most of the backfield charge without Kamara in the series will normally go to Murray. As the most important addition, he rushed for 656 yards and four touchdowns. He also got 23 passes for 176 yards and a score.
Burton is a fullback, and Washington is a reserve bench with just eight runs.
While Montgomery was primarily a wide receiver at Stanford, he had no experience running back.
He spent most of his six-year career as a fullback with the Saints, Green Bay Packers, Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets.
His most productive season in that position was in 2016 with Green Bay, when he raced 77 times for 457 yards and three touchdowns while winding 44 passes for 348 yards.
The only fullback in the Saints practice squad is Tony Jones Jr.
Jones played four seasons at Notre Dame, and his best statistical year was his senior campaign in 2019, when he rushed for 857 yards and six touchdowns on 144 runs while catching 15 passes for 104 yards and a score.
With few options to run back, the Saints can more often take to the air with quarterback Drew Brees. Head coach Sean Payton could also try to integrate rugby district Taysom Hill and his hurried ability more frequently.
The Saints have already clinched the NFC South and a playoff spot, so Sunday’s game is not of the utmost importance, but they can still earn the No. 1 seed and a first round with a win plus a loss. of Packers and Seattle Seahawks.