After missing last week’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Taliese Fuaga was back on the New Orleans Saints practice field Wednesday.
The right tackle has missed four games this year for various reasons, having dealt with knee and back injuries as well as an injury to his other ankle. If being back at practice is a sign he could be available this weekend against the Carolina Panthers, the timing works in the Saints favor.
Fuaga’s primary backup at right tackle, Asim Richards, missed Wednesday’s practice because of an ankle injury he sustained in the fourth quarter of last week’s game. New Orleans was down to third-string tackle William Sherman late in Sunday’s win.
He was one of three starters that was ruled out because of injury last week, but he was the only one of those three to practice Wednesday. Neither running back Alvin Kamara (knee/ankle) nor safety Justin Reid (knee) participated.
Reid, at least, was present for the practice. He worked off to the side with the athletic training staff, and stood by to watch the rest of the safeties go through positional drills. Reid injured his knee early in the Saints’ Week 13 loss to the Miami Dolphins.
Kamara has missed each of the last two games since injuring his knee in the first quarter of the Saints’ Week 12 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
Rookie Devin Neal has served as the lead back in Kamara’s absence, turning his 37 touches into 153 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown in the last two games.