METAIRIE, La. -- The New Orleans Saints will have another lineup change in Sunday's Week 16 game against the New York Jets (1 p.m. ET, CBS).
Saints rookie running back Devin Neal, who scored two touchdowns in the past two weeks, is out with a hamstring injury. Wide receiver Devaughn Vele, who was starting to hit his stride in the past three games, won't play because of a shoulder injury.
Saints coach Kellen Moore ruled out both players on Wednesday, and while he said neither had a serious injury, he did not give a timetable for their returns. With the Saints eliminated from the playoffs and with three games left in the season, it's possible neither player sees the field again this year.
So who does that leave to fill in roles at running back and receiver during the final stretch of the season?
In the backfield, Evan Hull and Audric Estime are the most likely candidates to share carries this week. Those two are essentially the Saints' fourth- and fifth-team running backs due to other injuries at that position.
Alvin Kamara, 30, has missed several games with knee and ankle issues and Kendre Miller is out for the season with a torn ACL. Neal had moved into the team's top running back spot because of attrition.
Estime was a key part of the Saints' comeback Week 15 win against the Carolina Panthers in the fourth quarter, catching passes of 19 yards and 9 yards in the drive leading up to the game-winning field goal.
A fifth-round pick for the Denver Broncos last season, Estime had two rushing touchdowns and five receptions in 2024. He signed with the Saints practice squad in October and has now played in two games.
"Even though I'm not getting the game reps, I take as many practice reps as I can, because you never know when you're going to need it in the game, if someone goes down, like Devin did," Estime said. "[If] your number is called, you're going to have to be able to do that job as well as the guy who's supposed to do it."
Hull, a fifth-round pick for the Indianapolis Colts in 2023 who has played sparingly, also signed with the Saints practice squad in October. He had four carries for 12 yards against the Panthers last Sunday.
"Been really impressed with those guys since they got here," Moore said. "They were quickly called upon to contribute in some fashion. They were ready. They've taken advantage of every opportunity. I think Joel [Thomas] is one of the best running backs coaches in the league, so he prepares these guys as good as anyone I've ever been around and so these guys are dialed."
A source told ESPN's Adam Schefter Wednesday that the Saints are also signing veteran running back Nyheim Hines to their practice squad. It's unclear if the Saints would elevate Hines to the active game-day roster after only a practice or two with the team, with one elevation spot likely going to wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr.
Kicker Charlie Smyth, who has been elevated from the practice squad three times already, will be signed to the active roster according to Moore.
Hines, 29, spent the first four seasons of his career with the Colts before he was traded to the Buffalo Bills midway through the 2022 season. Hines rushed for 1,205 yards and 10 touchdowns in Indianapolis.
He was most recently with the Los Angeles Chargers, where he appeared in three games and had two rushing attempts for negative yards. He did not play in the 2023 or 2024 seasons while recovering from a knee injury sustained in a watercraft accident in the summer of 2023.
And at wide receiver, the Saints are getting thin having already lost Rashid Shaheed (traded to the Seattle Seahawks), Brandin Cooks (he asked for a release) and now Vele, who was acquired via a preseason trade with the Broncos. Vele had become a favorite target of quarterback Tyler Shough in the past few weeks.
When Vele was hurt and left the game in the third quarter of Sunday's win against the Panthers, the Saints turned to Chris Olave, who had had a quiet game up to that point. But other players, such as Austin, were able to make an impact.
"I was really proud of how everybody stepped in [those] roles and nobody blinked," Shough said after the game. "Audric, Evan, Kevin, all those guys, nobody blinked. They stepped up and made plays. So I think they'll be great for us."
Shough managed the comeback without Vele, using Estime, Austin, Olave, Mason Tipton and tight end Juwan Johnson as targets. While Tipton has not been used much as a receiver in the regular season, he was the recipient of Shough's first NFL touchdown when he caught a 54-yard pass in a preseason game against the Chargers.
When Shough was asked how he has handled all the offensive changes since becoming a starter ahead of the Saints' Week 9 game, he said "urgent communication" is the key when trying to get a replacement player up to speed in a matter of days.
"There's a lot of extra work that goes on outside of practice," Shough said. "... You can't replicate weeks, months of chemistry, but at the end of the day, I think all the guys that have gotten an opportunity, and they're going to continue the opportunity, stepped up and we're going to continue to rely on them."