NFL Player News

Sewell was hurt after the Saints brought down a Baker Mayfield interception. He slipped on the field with a non-contact knee injury and was carted off. Sewell is in his second year as an undrafted free agent taking snaps at linebacker for the Saints.

Making his 2024 debut after hamstring woes sidelined him to begin the year, Miller didn’t register a carry. Pro Football Focus did chart him as out-snapping Jamaal Williams 20-12 behind Alvin Kamara. With their season circling the drain and the skill corps laid low by injury, the Saints are going to need more out of their backfield, and Williams is on his last legs. Miller might slowly come into 12-team league relevance, but for now he’s a purely speculative bench add.

A 24-year-old UDFA out of Yale, Tipton outshined fellow rookie DFS long shot Bub Means, who turned his five targets into a scoreless 3/37. Tipton has been involved in an on-and-off fashion since the opener, but entered this evening with just six total catches all year. With Rashid Shaheed out for the year and Chris Olave dealing with his fourth documented concussion, the 5-foot-11 Tipton could be needed for a lot more work. That’s bad for the Saints, but perhaps a lifeline for deep-league PPR managers desperate for help.

What was originally deemed a knee injury was actually a broken femur. It should be a season-ender for the 25-year-old, who is undergoing surgery Thursday evening. It’s a brutal blow for a 2021 third-rounder headed into the final year of his rookie deal. It leaves the Saints short-handed at corner, and clouds Adebo’s free agent status. Perhaps he could end up back in New Orleans on something of a “prove it” deal.

With Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed sidelined, Johnson posted a new season high for targets but still failed to reach 20 yards for what would have been just the third time all season. 28-year-old Johnson simply has zero juice in this decaying offense, with or without Derek Carr under center. He can be left out of the top 24 for Week 8 against the Chargers.

With Chris Olave (concussion) out and Rashid Shaheed done for the year, fifth-round rookie Means rotated snaps and targets with fellow rookie Mason Tipton and journeyman Cedrick Wilson. Needless to say, it was not an ideal offensive environment. Means could be forced into plenty more work down the stretch, but he didn’t show enough tonight to earn top-60 status for Week 8 against the Chargers even if Derek Carr is ready to return from injury.

The five carries doubled the fifth-round rookie’s previous season total, but his fourth quarter fumble could be the only thing coach Sean Payton remembers. Trying to put the game away, Estime instead gave the Saints a lifeline when he let the ball get ripped out. Estime carries were a point of emphasis when he was in the game, as PFF charted him as getting the rock on 5-of-6 snaps. Good, but almost certainly outweighed by the bad of the giveaway looking ahead to Week 8 against the Panthers.

Once again a distant No. 2 behind Javonte Williams, McLaughlin did remain ahead of Audric Estime. That should remain the case for at least Week 8 against the Panthers after the rookie lost a fumble this evening. Held to nine scoreless touches over the past two weeks, McLaughlin isn’t looking like much of a hold in 12-team re-draft leagues since even a Williams injury would probably just result in a committee.

With overmatched rookie Spencer Rattler missing his top two receivers on a short week against an elite defense, there was nowhere for the Saints’ offense to hide. Every Kamara touch was predictable and typically resulted in a huge hit. The “highlight” was two late second quarter checkdowns that so disgusted Kamara he started yelling at the sideline. On to the next one. Speaking of the next one, we have no idea who might be available for the Saints. The Chargers are a tough matchup, but the offensive environment will be better if at least some of Derek Carr, Chris Olave and Taysom Hill can return from injury.

The doughnut was not only Sutton’s first of the season, it was the first time he drew fewer than four looks. With the game never really competitive, Bo Nix seemed more focused on attempting to develop a connection with fellow rookie Troy Franklin. As usual, the Broncos’ offense badly bogged down in the red zone. You would think they might have looked Sutton’s way there, but we digress. Sutton is going to produce WR4 statlines more weeks than not, but the ceiling potential is so limited in this offense that he’s not really someone you want to be jamming into your lineup on a weekly basis. That being said, the Panthers are an A+ Week 8 matchup.

Rattler’s second fumble was really more of a pick-six where he coughed the ball up into the air under pressure. He was lucky it wasn’t his second fumble-six of the evening, as he had an earlier one called back by an offsides penalty. Rattler was hit while throwing on his first cough up. That one thankfully didn’t result in a Broncos house call. That was the only good news of the night for an overmatched rookie who took a seat late and watched Jake Haener promptly lead a touchdown drive. Rattler’s supporting cast made for a hopeless situation, but he failed to overcome it to the degree that it’s fair to wonder if Haener gets the call in Week 8 against the Chargers if Derek Carr isn’t ready to return. More than anything, Rattler was making really poor reads.