The New Orleans Saintshave lost one of their pass rushers as Hau’oli Kikaha went down with an ACL tear as reported by Mike Garafolo.
Rough news for the Saints: DE Hau'oli Kikaha tore his ACL, sources say. Last year's second-round pick likely done for the season.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) June 9, 2016
Saints Lose Hau’oli Kikaha for Season with Torn ACL
Kikaha was entering his second year in the NFL before learning about the news that he will not be able to play for the entire 2016-2017 season. The 23-year-old was drafted in the second round of the 2015 draft. He was drafted 44th overall from Washington.
In his first season with the Saints, the outside linebacker played in 15 games and started 11 of them. He had four forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He also had 31 tackles, 19 assisted tackles, and four sacks. His sacks were the third most on the team and he had the most forced fumbles on the team with the second most on the team being two.
The Saints have had trouble in recent years with their defense and therefore this news won’t sit well with both the team and fans alike as it is progress in the opposite direction. In 2015, the Saints were 31st in net yards against as they gave up 6,620 yards. That includes being 31st in both passing and rushing yards given up. They fared similarly in 2014 as they were also ranked 31st in net yards against with 6,144 yards. It also includes coming in 29th for rushing yards against and 25th for passing yards against. Both those years were with Rob Ryan as the defensive coordinator who has since gone to Buffalo to coach with his brother Rex.
The Saints new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen will look to fix what has been ailing New Orleans over the last two years. It won’t be an easy task and now with a solid player like Hau’oli Kikaha gone for the season, his job just got that much harder.
