The New Orleans Saints announced that safety Kenny Vaccaro’s four-game suspension will start today, meaning he’ll miss (predictably) the final four games of the 2016 NFL season.
Vaccaro’s suspension was first announced last month, but appeals delayed the start of that suspension. Vaccaro dropped his appeals so he could serve it the final four games of this season — a pretty good indication that the Saints have more or less given up on making the playoffs this year.
Vaccaro’s absence is bad news for an already bad Saints defense. The 2014 fourth-round pick has two interceptions and two forced fumbles this season, and is one of the very few Sains defenders actually making plays on a consistent basis. So this is good news for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who won’t have to face him on Sunday.
Then again, the Saints defense can’t really get all that much worse. So perhaps Vaccaro’s suspension will just be more of the same.