Kellen Moore gave an injury update on Friday ahead of the New Orleans Saints’ second showdown with the Carolina Panthers. Takes Fuaga was nowhere to be seen. With no injury designation for Fuaga, Tyler Shough will have both of his starting offensive tackles protecting him. That hasn’t been the case in three of his five starts.
Fuaga’s return is well timed. Asim Richards has manned the right tackle position in Fuaga’s absence, and he has already been ruled out of this game due to a high ankle sprain suffered last week. Rather than being forced to their third string right tackle, the Saints get their starter back.
The Panthers don’t have an amazing pass rush, but you still don’t want to walk out third string at any position. Those odds are never in your favor, so why tempt it? New Orleans already played this team with a backup a month ago and escaped relatively clean.
Taliese Fuaga has dealt with an injury riddled sophomore season
Fuaga had a really strong rookie year. The highlight was shutting out Myles Garrett. After drafting Kelvin Banks Jr., Fuaga moved back to his natural position of right tackle. Unfortunately, he hasn’t spent much of the season healthy to build on that initial campaign.
Even when he’s on the field, Fuaga has appeared to just be gutting it out though. It’s hard to truly say whether this is a sophomore slump or just a player whose play is dipping due to injury.
The fact Fuaga hasn’t been able to spend much time with the Saints rookie is a shame, but it’s also made the start of Shough’s career special. Producing while not playing with one of the Saints’ cornerstones is a great example of why fans are so high on Shough.
That being said, Shough has proved it already. Playing under less than ideal circumstances is a box he’s checked, but it’s not a recipe for prolonged success.