The New Orleans Saints expect to welcome running back Alvin Kamara back into their lineup on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, now that he’s nearing a recovery from early-season knee and ankle injuries. But Saints coach Sean Payton noted another player whose return could help the offense: second-year wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith.
“He’s another player that I think the bye came at the right time,” Payton said to Amie Just of Nola.com. Smith caught all five of his targets in New Orleans’ first two games, including a touchdown pass in the season-opener. But an ankle injury has kept him out of the picture for most of the season, including five of his last six games.
An extra week of rest for Smith during the Saints’ bye week did him some good. He was listed as a full participant in Wednesday’s practice on the official injury report, which is marked improvement over the month-plus he spent on the sidelines receiving treatment from team medical staff.
If he is able to handle a full workload against the Falcons, the Saints could really use Smith’s skill set. They haven’t found a consistent threat opposite Michael Thomas at wide receiver despite some sporadic contributions from Ted Ginn Jr. In the wake of injuries to Smith and Keith Kirkwood (who landed on injured reserve after hurting his hamstring back in Week 2), they’ve had to cycle practice squad receivers in and out of the lineup, and ask backup slot receiver Austin Carr to average 31.3 snaps per game; he’s caught one of four targets in that span.
Smith had the second-most targets (44), receptions (28), and touchdown catches (5) of all Saints wide receivers as a rookie last year, and averaged 15.3 yards per catch. Hopefully he can put this injury behind him and start to reach his potential for the Saints as a big-play option next to Thomas.
