As they began to show signs of health, the New Orleans Saints added a few more key names to their injury list. As if Sunday’s 26-8 loss to the Chargers wasn’t bad enough, New Orleans also lost some key contributors during its sixth straight loss.

The Saints still have WR Rashid Shaheed, CB Paulson Adebo and C Erik McCoy on injured reserve with Shaheed and Adebo out for the year. However, other key players returned to the lineup on Sunday. Taysom Hill, offensive linemen Cesar Ruiz and Lucas Patrick, WR Chris Olave and LB Pete Werner were all back after missing two or more straight outings.

It didn’t do much good, as New Orleans lost six in a row for only the second time in 25 years. In the process, the Saints also saw other players added to their incredible list of injured players.

Some of these players could miss time as we enter a new week where we need to closely monitor the injury report. Here are the notable Saints who walked away from Sunday’s loss and added their names to the walking wounded list.

It went largely unnoticed on the television broadcast, but Johnson left the game against the Chargers with a concussion. John Hendrix of the Saints News Network initially reported that the incident occurred late in Sunday’s loss. No further news was available immediately after the match.

Ross Jackson of WWL Louisiana reported Monday that Johnson authorized the concussion evaluation process. As a result, he will not have to go through the NFL’s five-step concussion protocol to be cleared to participate in Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers.

Johnson caught three of his four targets for 48 yards against the Chargers. On the season, he has 18 receptions for 184 yards and a score. Fourteen of those catches came in the last four games.

New Orleans received some good news regarding Johnson’s injury. The same can’t be said for some of the others who were eliminated in this weekend’s loss.

Already without Adebo, lost for the season last week, Lattimore left Sunday’s game late in the third quarter. His initial diagnosis was a hamstring injury, which was confirmed on Monday. Even worse, the hamstring was on the same leg he had injured the previous Thursday in a loss to Denver.

Soft tissue injuries have plagued New Orleans this season and have often persisted beyond average recovery periods. A position based on agility and recurring on the same muscle could be of particular concern.

Early reports this week regarding Lattimore won’t say much. He is also unlikely to spend much, if any, time training in the middle of the week to get as much rest as possible. Injury reports from Thursday or Friday may give a better indication, but it’s possible we’re in it until next Sunday before we know for sure if Lattimore will face Carolina.

Lattimore is one of the few defenders in New Orleans who has played remarkable football. He broke up two passes, but teams often rejected him due to exceptional overall coverage. When they did, Lattimore only gave up a 55% completion percentage with no touchdowns against him.

A fifth-round rookie pick, Means was clearly drained by a rough performance against the Chargers. It was obvious he was in pain from the start of the match and left the field several times to go to the injury tent.

Means had 14 snaps against the Chargers. He caught his only target of the game, a 36-yard deep strike from quarterback Jake Haener on New Orleans’ final drive. After the match, it was revealed that Means suffered a high ankle sprain.

The ankle injury will likely sideline Means for a while. The number of weeks will likely become clearer this week. It’s possible he could be placed on injured reserve, meaning he would miss at least four weeks of action.

Means has nine receptions so far for 118 yards and a touchdown. All nine catches and 14 of his 15 targets came in the last three weeks. The Saints are already without Shaheed and have a beat Chris Olave. With Means now likely out of action, they will have to rely more on undrafted rookie Mason Tipton, practice squad player Equanimeous St. Brown and new addition Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

Well, we’ve gone almost two full weeks without a Kendre Miller injury. In just his second game back from injured reserve due to a hamstring ailment, Miller left in the third quarter of the Chargers game with another hamstring issue.

The possible good news is that this injury was not to the leg that kept Miller out for all of training camp and the first six games of the regular season. The reality is that this is yet another problem for a back that has been plagued by injuries throughout his short career.

Miller showed impressive burst and promise against the Chargers. He had three carries for 16 yards and a kickoff return for 41 yards with two other nice gains negated by penalties. However, Miller has always displayed tantalizing talent. The problem is actually staying in alignment to capitalize on that promise.

Miller missed nine of 17 games as a rookie in 2023 and played more than 10 snaps in just three of those nine outings. When he is on the field, his brilliance, his vision and his ability to achieve good things are undeniable.

Kendre Miller is just one of the new names we’ll be watching closely in this week’s injury report. Bub Means and especially Marshon Lattimore are the others, along with the status of QB Derek Carr, as the 2-6 Saints take on the Carolina Panthers.