With New Orleans running back Alvin Kamara ruled out ahead of Sunday’s matchup with the Minnesota Vikings in London, the Saints will have to turn elsewhere to get their run game going. In order to do so, they’ll turn to not only veteran back Mark Ingram, but also recent addition Latavius Murray. Murray, a former Vikings running back, was a part of the Saints backfield for the 2019 and 2020 seasons. He’s no stranger to the scheme.
Murray was brought up from the practice squad on Saturday afternoon in London as a standard elevation. That means after Sunday’s game, he’ll revert back to the practice squad. He was not added to the 53-man roster in this instance, but the Saints will have to promote him if he’s elevated for two more games (practice squad players may be activated up to three times each season). Murray rushed for 1,293 rushing yards and scored 9 touchdowns on the ground in his two years in the Big Easy. He ran for over 60 rushing yards in eight contests, breaking the century mark three times.
Along with Kamara, Tony Jones Jr. will be inactive as well. That leaves a three-man running back rotation of Ingram, Murray and special teams ace Dwayne Washington. New Orleans also waived veteran fullback Adam Prentice to make room for reserve quarterback Jake Luton on the active roster. If the Saints intend to use any fullback sets in this week’s game, expected elevated tight end J.P. Holtz to serve in that role.