So this is interesting. The New Orleans Saints announced their practice squad elevations for Week 2’s game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but only one player is getting promoted for the NFC South matchup: defensive tackle Christian Ringo, who was also brought up for Week 1’s game.
This might be significant for Alvin Kamara. The star running back is officially listed as questionable to suit up on Sunday while dealing with a rib injury that cost him two days of practice. New Orleans signed veteran running back Latavius Murray to the practice squad early this week and likely would have activated him should Kamara be unable to play.
It’s worth noting that Mark Ingram II (ankle) and backup running back Dwayne Washington (hamstring) are also questionable due injuries, meaning the only player at that position entering Week 2 with a clean bill of health is Tony Jones Jr. The decision to keep Murray on the sideline (teams may elevate two practice squad players each week, but New Orleans opted to only bring up one) may suggest they’re confident Kamara can play, but we’ll have to wait until the inactive list is published Sunday morning.
As for Ringo: he only saw 22 snaps on defense in the season-opener, playing behind David Onyemata (47 snaps), Shy Tuttle (41), and Kentavius Street (31). He’s been filling in for Malcolm Roach, who had to go on injured reserve for four weeks to start the season. NFL rules dictate that teams may elevate a practice squad player like this for three games each season; if they want to continue playing Ringo after reaching that limit, they’ll have to sign him to the 53-man roster.