Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE
It appears that the New Orleans Saints have placed middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma on the physically unable to play list (PUP). Vilma’s status on the PUP list became aware from a tweet by Saints senior vice president of communications Greg Bensel.
Vilma is still currently rehabbing his injured knee and the rehab will take a few weeks meaning Vilma might not play until after week seven. If Vilma comes back for week seven it will be quite a coincidence.
The Saints’ suspended interim coach Joe Vitt will rejoin the team in week seven. It is just an interesting coincidence to me but there is no guarantee that Vilma will come back after week six. Whenever Vilma returns it is sure to be an emotional return for him and the team.
If and when Vilma returns to the field I am not sure where he will play. I don’t think it would be wise to reinstate him as the starting middle linebacker since he has not played a game of football since last season.
Furthermore, when Vilma comes back middle linebacker Curtis Lofton would have already started for a good chunk of the season. Vilma should back up Lofton and give the Saints a boost in their linebacker corps.
One thing is for sure, the Saints could really use Vilma as their linebacker corps have been banged up since the off-season and Vilma will provide some much needed depth. However, if and when Vilma returns one has to wonder how effective he will be since he is just coming back from a serious knee injury.
