Saints' Richards Steps Into Crucial Role After Kelvin Banks Jr. Injury

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Asim Richards is about to become much more important to the New Orleans Saints' offensive line.

Starting left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. suffered a severe high ankle sprain during Sunday's 24-17 win over the Baltimore Ravens and will undergo surgery in the coming days. Banks is out indefinitely, with the earliest potential return expected to be around 10 weeks, according to Ian Rapoport. That timetable would keep him sidelined until late in the regular season.

#Saints OT Kelvin Banks Jr suffered a severe high-ankle sprain and is now expected to have surgery to repair it, tests revealed today. He is out indefinitely.

Banks, one of the top young OTs, has a chance to return late in the season if all goes well. But a significant loss. pic.twitter.com/Yp0g5hfHha
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 21, 2026

Head coach Kellen Moore said Monday that the Saints will have a better understanding of Banks' recovery timeline after surgery but acknowledged there remains a possibility he could return this season.

"We'll just kind of see what the timeline looks like after that," Moore said. "Unfortunate thing for Kelvin, but we'll just take this thing step by step and then figure out the timeline after that."

For now, that puts the focus on Richards.

Richards Played Huge Part in Saints’ Upset Win Over Baltimore

The fourth-year offensive lineman replaced Banks at left tackle against Baltimore and is positioned to handle a significantly larger workload during his absence.

"Asim was asked to play a number of snaps last year, and he'll be asked to play a number of snaps this year," Moore said. "I think he's gotten better through the offseason. I thought he hopped in there and battled."

Richards was tested immediately after entering the lineup, including matchups with Trey Hendrickson in obvious passing situations. Moore came away encouraged by how Richards handled the challenge.

"He's going against Trey (Hendrickson) in a couple of passing situations. I thought he held his own," Moore said. "We'll prepare with him, getting as many reps as he possibly can, and so then he'll be ready to go."

Moore described Richards as a steady presence who rarely allows the circumstances of a game to affect him. His technique in pass protection has also stood out as he continues to develop.

"I think he's a steady player," Moore said. "He doesn't get too high, doesn't get too low. I think he does a good job of putting himself in good position from a pass protection standpoint."

Richards will also have left guard David Edwards playing alongside him, something Moore believes can provide additional stability as he adjusts to the larger workload.

Richards already showed his value during one of the Saints' biggest plays against Baltimore.

On a critical third-down conversion to Juwan Johnson, the Ravens brought Cover 0 pressure that forced the Saints to get the ball out quickly. Richards found himself between two rushers but managed to account for both long enough to give the play time to develop.

Juwan Johnson’s 28 yard catch and run to set up the game winning touchdown, was brought to you by…. Asim Richards
2 for 1 special 🥹 pic.twitter.com/Io4C1dlGmv
— Terron Armstead (@T_Armstead72) September 21, 2026

"Asim ended up kind of between two defenders and kind of ended up essentially kind of buying us just a click, just a long enough time by kind of accounting for both those guys," Moore said.

It was one play, but it offered a glimpse of what New Orleans will need from Richards moving forward.

With Banks facing an absence of at least roughly 10 weeks, Richards is no longer simply offensive line depth. He is in line to play an important role protecting Tyler Shough's blind side for much of the regular season while the Saints hope Banks can work his way back for the stretch run.

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