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Kellen Moore Rules Out 3 Starters For Saints-Buccaneers Showdown

The New Orleans Saints aren't going to have all of their starters...
Nov 2, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore reacts on the sidelines during the first half against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
Nov 2, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore reacts on the sidelines during the first half against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Saints are going to be missing at least three starters on Sunday when they take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

New Orleans has a division showdown on its hands coming and Saints head coach Kellen Moore announced that offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga, running back Alvin Kamara, and safety Justin Reid will all miss the showdown.

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"Medically, (Chris Olave) is questionable," Moore said. "The other guys will be out between Taliese, Alvin, and Justin Reid. So, those are the adjustments there. Nothing on (Jonas Sanker), he's good to go."

The Saints won't be at full strength

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara
Nov 9, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) walks off the field after the game at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Fuaga is dealing with injuries to both ankles.

"He just got his left ankle," Moore said. "It was towards the tail end of this past game. It's just a traditional ankle and now he's managing two of them at once now. He rolled his left ankle. Left side kind of fell back on him."

It's going to be tough for New Orleans on Sunday. This will be Kamara's second straight missed game due to knee and ankle injuries. Reid played last week against the Miami Dolphins and will miss the contest due to a knee injury.

Fortunately, Jonas Sanker is good to go. There was some fear about him earlier in the week. Losing two safeties would've been pretty difficult to overcome, especially against the Buccaneers.

New Orleans enters the showdown sporting a 2-10 record, whereas the Buccaneers have a 7-5 record. The Saints don't have a shot at the division or anything of that nature, but they could play spoiler a bit on Sunday. The Carolina Panthers are right on the Buccaneers' tail at 7-6.

Throughout the rest of the season, the story will be development and playing spoiler. Tyler Shough has looked good and has five more games to show what he can do. The Saints can negatively impact other teams' playoff positioning along the way. But the matchup will be tough on Sunday without these three.

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also recieved an MBA at Brandeis University. For all business/marketing inquiries, please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org

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