The New Orleans Saints’ running back situation might have just gotten more complicated still. Three weeks after Reggie Bush returned from injury, and the same week that Pierre Thomas returned to action, rookie and de facto starter Chris Ivory left the Rams-Saints game with a hamstring injury. Ivory had seven carries for 47 yards when he left.
Since he’s gone Thomas and Bush have split carries and proved pretty effective, but Ivory was the clear starter while he was on the field, and it’s uncertain just how severe his injury is; the Saints have led the Rams most of the way, but the Saints really have no reason to risk Thomas and Bush, either. The Rams are despondent enough to have moved on to Keith Toston; they’re not even willing to risk Kenneth Darby.
Chris Ivory had been averaging more than five yards per carry in his rookie season with the club. He was forced into the starting role after both Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas went down for more than two months with injuries sustained in the first three weeks of the season.