A week after an explosive, six-touchdown performance against Minnesota, New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara is expected to be unavailable for New Orleans’ regular-season finale against the Carolina Panthers.
Kamara missed practice then landed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Friday, the team announced. He tested positive for the novel coronavirus, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported, and will not play Sunday.
A positive diagnosis would sideline Kamara for 10 days, which could impact his availability for the Saints’ postseason. New Orleans (11-4) enters Week 17 in second place in the NFC, behind the 12-3 Packers. To improve to first in the NFC and earn the conference’s lone bye in a seven-team field, New Orleans must win — in addition to Green Bay losing to Chicago and Seattle beating San Francisco.
Otherwise, New Orleans will compete in the wildcard round on January 9-10, putting in question Kamara’s availability. If he’s unavailable, New Orleans would lose a player who’s raced to 1,688 yards and a league-best 21 combined rushing and receiving touchdowns in 15 games. Kamara’s six Christmas day touchdowns tied a 91-year-old league record for most rushing touchdowns in a game in NFL history.
Saints safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson is also on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list.
