Let’s start with the good news: the New Orleans Saints ruled out just two players for Week 14’s home game with the Carolina Panthers due to injury, and they’re both rookies who haven’t seen the field much this year — defensive end Isaiah Foskey (quadricep) and running back Kendre Miller (ankle).
Now the bad news, and there’s a lot of it. Nine different Saints players are questionable to play on Sunday because of injuries. It’s a big group including quarterbacks Derek Carr (concussion/rib/right shoulder) and Taysom Hill (foot/left hand) as well as defensive end Cameron Jordan (ankle), wide receivers Rashid Shaheed (thigh) and Chris Olave (illness), tight end Juwan Johnson (quadricep), linebacker Pete Werner (shoulder/oblique), kicker Blake Grupe (right groin), and rookie guard Nick Saldiveri (shoulder).
Some players are trending in the right direction. Carr was upgraded to full practice reps on Friday after being limited earlier in the week and just needs to clear NFL concussion protocol to suit up. Grupe practiced fully all week and the Saints released his backup from the practice squad. Olave should be good to go if he can stay hydrated and rest up by Sunday’s kickoff.
But obviously it’s a fluid situation all around. We should expect final word when the inactives list is reported Sunday morning and it’s possible the Saints update some players’ statuses after the final walkthrough on Saturday. Here’s the full injury report from each team:
