It’s been a struggle for Saints cornerback Keenan Lewis to stay on the field this year, and the team couldn’t keep waiting.
Via Evan Woodbery of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the Saints placed Lewis on season-ending injured reserve, and filled his roster spot with veteran Chris Owens.
Lewis had a sports hernia, and the surgery cost him the first three games and limited him when he did come back. He also suffered an MCL injury in the Saints’ last game against Washington.
“[The] stuff I’ve dealt with this whole season, I guess it’s just one of those years when you’re trying to fight for your team and your body just doesn’t allow you to,” Lewis said. “It’s tough. I’m trying to get out of this slump I’m in, body-wise.”
So is the Saints defense as a whole.
The 29-year-old Lewis only played about 15 percent of the team’s snaps this year. He’s under contract through 2017, and they’ve already guaranteed his 2016 salary in a restructuring last offseason.