Is Mark Ingram or Alvin Kamara Playing Today? Is Tony Jones Worth Picking Up?

As fantasy football managers prepare for Week 12, let's check in on the New Orleans Saints running backs for their Week 12 Thanksgiving game against the Buffalo Bills. Is Mark Ingram or Alvin Kamara playing today?

Let's take a quick look at the injury status for Ingram and Kamara, and who could fill in for the Saints at the running back position.

Is Mark Ingram Playing In Week 12 Against the Bills?

Mark Ingram II was listed as questionable to play in Week 12, dealing with a knee injury, and had been limited in practice all week long. Early in the day on Thursday, an injury update was provided and we now know that Ingram will not play tonight against the Bills:

The newly acquired Ingram had been ramping up in the Saints offense, and acted as the lead running back with Kamara out the past two weeks racking up 14 carries in Week 10 and 16 carries in Week 11. It's unknown how serious Ingram's knee injury is, but given his questionable status we would expect to see Ingram back next week in Week 13.

Is Alvin Kamara Playing In Week 12 Against the Bills?

For those who did not follow Kamara's injury updates all week, on Wednesday he was officially ruled out for the Week 12 matchup against the Bills:

This is now the third week in a row that Kamara is injured and will not play, as he continues to deal with a knee injury. As of now, it's unknown when Kamara will return although the hope is that he'll be ready to return for Week 13 versus the Dallas Cowboys.

Is Tony Jones Jr. Starting In Week 12 At Running Back?

Given that both Kamara and Ingram are out for Week 12, we should expect to see Tony Jones Jr. act as the lead running back for the Saints in the Week 12 game versus the Bills:

After missing a few games himself with an injury, Jones was activated from IR last week and only saw a few touches. The Saints are generally a run-heavy team, so we would expect to see Jones get plenty of touches this week. In the preseason Jones surpassed Latavius Murray on the depth chart, which led to his release -- a good reminder for those questioning whether the Saints coaching staff has trust in Jones to succeed in this offense.

Ty Montgomery and Taysom Hill should also be in the mix in Week 12 against the Bills, but this will likely be Jones' time to operate as the featured back. The Bills have a stout run defense, but Jones can still be picked up off the waiver wire and plugged into fantasy lineups as an upside FLEX/RB3 streamer based on the opportunity share he is expected to receive.

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