Alvin Kamara is inactive for Week 2 vs. Buccaneers

The New Orleans Saints announced Week 2 inactives and Alvin Kamara is officially inactive for their matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Kamara has been dealing with a rib cartilage issue and despite attempting to make the case to start in pre-game warmups, the Saints will play it safe on Sunday.

Mark Ingram will take on a larger role as Kamara’s backup, although he also enters Week 2 with an injury bug himself. Ingram is nursing an ankle injury and despite his active status, there is a chance he could surrender a few carries to those behind him on the depth chart. Dwayne Washington and Tony Jones. Jr could see more carries than usual, and it’s also not out of the question to rule out Taysom Hill potentially handling carries as well.

Kamara’s absence in Week 2 certainly creates a hassle for fantasy managers, but the long-term thinking outweighs the potential short-term risk. The Buccaneers' defense poses a substantial challenge to Kamara’s fantasy production in general, so the limited fantasy point projection isn’t worth the added risk of injury. Ingram stands to benefit the most and fantasy managers should fire him up in leagues as a great flex value option. The Saints’ receivers also stand to see a greater boost than normal, should New Orleans opt to throw the ball more and decrease the volume of carries as a gameplan strategy.