Battered and Bruised Saints Injury List Grows Longer

Just as the Saints showed a glimmer of hope on the injury front, they emerged from Sunday's loss with more key contributors potentially sidelined

New Orleans Saints running back Kendre Miller (25) runs the ball against the Los Angeles Chargers / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Just as they were beginning to show some signs of getting healthy, the New Orleans Saints added a few more key names to their injury list. As if Sunday's 26-8 loss to the Chargers wasn't bad enough, New Orleans also lost a few vital contributors in the process of their sixth straight defeat.

The Saints still have WR Rashid Shaheed, CB Paulson Adebo, and C Erik McCoy on injured reserve, with Shaheed and Adebo out for the year. However, other key players returned to the lineup Sunday. Taysom Hill, offensive linemen Cesar Ruiz and Lucas Patrick, WR Chris Olave, and LB Pete Werner were all back after missing two or more consecutive outings.

It didn't do much good, as New Orleans dropped six straight for just the second time in 25 years. In the process, the Saints also saw other players added to their incredible list of injured players.

Some of these players could miss some time as we enter yet another week of having to watch the injury report closely. Here are the notable Saints that left Sunday's loss and added their names to the list of walking wounded.

Juwan Johnson, TE

New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson (83) catches a pass against the Atlanta Falcons / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

It went largely unnoticed on the telecast, but Johnson exited the game against the Chargers with a concussion. John Hendrix of the Saints News Network initially reported that the incident happened late in Sunday's loss. No further news was available immediately after the game.

Ross Jackson of WWL Louisiana reported on Monday that Johnson cleared the concussion evaluation process. As a result, he will not have to go through the NFL's five-step concussion protocol in order to be cleared for this Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers.

Johnson caught three of his four targets for 48 yards against the Chargers. On the season, he has 18 receptions for 184 yards and a score. Fourteen of those catches have come in the last four games.

New Orleans got good news from Johnson's injury. The same can not be said for some of the others that were knocked out of the loss this weekend.

Marshon Lattimore, CB

New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore (23) during the warmups before a game against the Denver Broncos / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Already without Adebo, lost for the season last week, Lattimore left Sunday's game late in the third quarter. His initial diagnosis was a hamstring injury, which was confirmed on Monday. Worse yet, the hamstring was on the same leg that he injured the prior Thursday in a loss to Denver.

Soft tissue injuries have plagued New Orleans this season and have often lingered past average recovery periods. One at a position predicated on agility and recurring on the same muscle might be especially concerning.

Early reports this week regarding Lattimore won't give away much. He's also not likely to see much, if any, practice time through the middle of the week to get as much rest as possible. Thursday or Friday injury reports may give a better indication, but it's possible that we'll go right up to early next Sunday before knowing for sure whether Lattimore will suit up against Carolina.

Lattimore is one of the very few New Orleans defenders that have played standout football. He's broken up two passes, but teams have often thrown away from him because of outstanding blanket coverage. When they have, Lattimore has surrendered only 55% completion percentage without a touchdown against him.

Bub Means, WR

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Bub Means (16) catches a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers / Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

A rookie fifth-round choice, Means clearly gutted through a tough performance against the Chargers. It was obvious that he was in pain from early on in the game and left the field several times for visits to the injury tent.

Means toughed out 14 snaps against the Chargers. He caught his only target of the game, a 36-yard deep strike from QB Jake Haener on the final New Orleans drive. After the game, it was revealed that Means had sustained a high ankle sprain.

The ankle injury will likely sideline Means for some time. How many weeks will probably become more clear this week. It's possible he could be placed on injured reserve, meaning he'd miss at least four weeks of action.

Means has nine receptions for 118 yards and a touchdown so far. All nine catches, and 14 of his 15 targets, have come over the last three weeks. The Saints are already without Shaheed and have a beaten up Chris Olave. With Means now likely out of action they'll need to rely more on undrafted rookie Mason Tipton, practice squad player Equanimeous St. Brown, and newly signed Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

Kendre Miller, RB

New Orleans Saints running back Kendre Miller (25) runs past Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. (3) / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Well, we made it almost two full weeks without a Kendre Miller injury. In only his second game back from injured reserve with a hamstring ailment, Miller left in the third quarter of the Chargers game with another hamstring issue.

The possible good news is that this injury wasn't to the leg that kept Miller out for all of training camp and the first six regular season contests. The reality is that it's yet another problem for a back that's been injury-plagued throughout his short career.

Miller showed impressive burst and promise against the Chargers. He had three rushes for 16 yards and a kickoff return for 41 yards with two other nice gains nullified by penalty. However, Miller has always shown tantalizing talent. The problem is actually staying in the lineup to capitalize on that promise.

Miller missed nine of 17 games as a rookie in 2023 and played more than 10 snaps in just three of those nine outings. When he's on the field, his burst, vision, and ability to make good things happen is undeniable.

Kendre Miller is just one of the new namenames we'll be watching closely on this week's injury report. Bub Means and especially Marshon Lattimore are the others, along with the status of QB Derek Carr, as the 2-6 Saints take on the Carolina Panthers.