One of Dennis Allen’s last acts as Saints HC will keep injured player off the field longer than needed
The New Orleans Saints moved on from head coach Dennis Allen after an embarrassing loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 9. In the matchup, they were without running back Kendre Miller, who resides on injured reserve for the second time this season. Unfortunately, he may have only needed to miss one week of play, […]
The New Orleans Saints moved on from head coach Dennis Allen after an embarrassing loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 9. In the matchup, they were without running back Kendre Miller, who resides on injured reserve for the second time this season.
Unfortunately, he may have only needed to miss one week of play, rather than over a month.
Kendre Miller to IR
According to Ross Jackson, Miller's latest addition to injured reserve was a surprise to many around the team, outside of Dennis Allen.
Miller's latest tweak to his hamstring injury that he suffered in the offseason came in Week 8. He was projected to return in Week 10, but Allen seemingly made a strong-armed choice to have the team put him on IR.
That choice forced him to miss four games, rather than just the one. That's a massive decision to make for a young player who desperately wants to prove that he can contribute and stay healthy in the NFL.
Per the source, the original plan for the running back, who “tweaked” his hamstring against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 8, was to proceed with caution and keep him out of last week’s Carolina Panthers matchup but ultimately have him return in Week 10 against the Atlanta Falcons. That would have put Miller back on the field this upcoming weekend.
The back was instead placed on Injured Reserve, sparking frustration among the coaching staff who was confused as to why that would be necessary for such a minor injury. Apparently former Head Coach Dennis Allen “had a lot to do with it.” One source suggests a “lack of trust” in Miller’s ability to stay healthy may have been the driving force of Allen’s motivation.
— Jackson
This is yet another tough look for Allen.
His applied pressure to Miller during the offseason caught plenty of headlines. Many national analysts felt like the coach had a vendetta against a young player who was trying to stay healthy but couldn't so far in his career.
For all intents and purposes, the feeling is that Miller is currently at 100% health and could be on the field immediately…
One source suggests that a meeting recently took place between Interim Head Coach Darren Rizzi and Miller in which the coach expressed his desire to get Miller back out on the field as soon as he is eligible to return. From there the expectation will be “all gas, no breaks” for the running back.
— Jackson
Now, we see that there may have been even more to the story. Hopefully, Miller will get plenty more opportunities to end this season, along with next year, to prove his talent and value to the Saints.
