Injuries are piling up for the New Orleans Saints, and with just six games left in the regular season it’s worth asking whether reinforcements are on their way. And there are a few impact players on the injured reserve list who could be cleared to return later this year, maybe in time for a playoff push.
Here’s a quick look at the players on the Saints’ injury list going into Week 13, and when they will be eligible to return to action:
DE Payton Turner
Eligible to return: Immediately
Turner is waiting to receive the green light from the team medical staff. He went down early in the season-opener with a serious turf toe injury that required surgery (similar to the torn ligament that derailed Trevor Penning last year). It’s been reported that Turner recently began cardio work at practice, but he’s likely still weeks away from returning to the field.
WR Michael Thomas
Eligible to return: Week 16 at Los Angeles Rams
Thomas took a helmet to his knee on his first play against the Minnesota Vikings, but the Saints waited until after their bye week to put him on injured reserve, which may delay his return. That won’t matter if he was on a five-week recovery timeline (or longer) to begin with. This has not been characterized as a season-ending injury, but it’s still disappointing to see such a great player sidelined by injuries so often in recent years.
CB Marshon Lattimore
Eligible to return: Week 16 at Los Angeles Rams
Lattimore can return at the same time as Thomas, but it depends on how his body responds to treatment after suffering a high ankle sprain. These injuries can take as long as six weeks to heal. If that’s the case for Lattimore, we might not see him again until the regular season finale with the Atlanta Falcons. Hopefully he’s able to return sooner.
Others eligible to return
There are two practice squad players on the injury list who can return once they’re healthy: linebacker Ryan Connelly and wide receiver Shaquan Davis. Connelly has been dealing with a preseason knee injury that flared up after he returned the first time earlier this year. Davis has been managing an unspecified injury. It would be nice to have him back on the practice squad if absences keep piling up at receiver, but his health comes first.
Out for the year
Three Saints players suffered season-ending injuries at training camp and will not be able to return this year: left guard Trai Turner (quadriceps), linebacker Andrew Dowell (knee), and running back Eno Benjamin (Achilles).
