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Meeting with reporters after Sunday's game, Keenan said the knee had been hurting him for most of the season. The collision late in the second quarter with TE Vernon Davis led to Keenan Lewis being carried to the locker room. He did return in the second half and played some while wearing a knee brace. It was obvious that Keenan was in a good deal of pain, as he was limping whenever he was on the field.
After returning to the field he convinced the coaches and trainers he could play by running, cutting, backpedaling, and doing other various cornerback moves on the sideline. He had a key 3rd down breakup and rotated in and out of the lineup for several plays, before finally leaving the game for good. When the knee became so swollen that he couldn't bend it anymore, defensive back coach Wesley McGriff, convinced Keenan that it was best not to risk tearing something in the knee and ending his season. While CB Patrick Robinson filled in admirably after Lewis left the game for good, we are hopeful he won't miss much time. We still have 7 tough games on our schedule, and the loss of Keenan Lewis to our already weak secondary would be a major blow.
With Corey White's uninspired performance, especially late in the game against the 49ers, losing Lewis for any significant period of time would be a major blow. Brian Dixon also received more playing time due to the injury, and rookie CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste was inactive. Patrick Robinson may well be pressed into service as the number 1 CB for the next few games, and the next man up philosophy employed by the Saints organization, could well be severely tested in the near future. None of the next few games are against weak opponents so we can only hope for the best. The trainers and coaches will surely work hard along with Keenan to rehab the knee, and ultimately the MRI will let us know how bad the knee really is.
I'll update the story as new information becomes available, but feel free to panic discuss the implications in the comments section.