The New Orleans Saints are quietly one of the more intriguing teams in the NFL heading into the 2026 campaign.
The Saints went just 6-11 last season, but they feature a compelling second-year quarterback in Tyler Shough, a revamped backfield that includes Travis Etienne Jr. and a receiving corps led by Chris Olave and first-round rookie Jordyn Tyson.
However, one long-time Saints player may no longer be with the team come Week 1: running back Alvin Kamara.
Kamara is entering the second year of a two-year, $24.5 million contract extension he signed with New Orleans in October 2024, but it’s abundantly clear he is no longer the same player.
In fact, Carter Bahns of CBS Sports has listed Kamara among eight players who could potentially be dealt before the start of the season.
“The Saints made a number of moves that suggest they are preparing to move on from the NFL single-game touchdown record holder, most significantly in March when they both restructured his deal and signed Travis Etienne Jr. in the span of three days,” Bahns wrote.
New Orleans converted over $10 million of Kamara’s base salary into a signing bonus, spreading out his cap hit and makes the team’s own financial situation more manageable.
It also makes the five-time Pro Bowler a more attractive trade candidate.
“Kamara is now the lesser-paid of the two, and, factoring in his diminishing workload and perennial inability to stay healthy, all signs point to Etienne as the featured back if both make the Week 1 roster,” Bahns added. “The contract restructuring makes Kamara much easier to trade, and general manager Mickey Loomis, earlier this offseason, did not deny interest in moving his longtime star running back, so there remains a chance this tandem never shares snaps in the New Orleans backfield.”
Kamara entered the league with the Saints in 2017 and established himself as one of the NFL’s best all-purpose backs right off the bat, rushing for 728 yards and eight touchdowns while also hauling in 81 receptions for 826 yards and five scores during his rookie campaign.
The former third-round pick has never rushed for 1,000 yards in a single season, but he led the league with 21 combined rushing and receiving touchdowns in 2020 and has caught over 50 passes seven times in his nine-year career. That also included snaring over 80 balls per year his first three seasons.
Kamara has declined significantly since then and finished with just 471 rushing yards and one touchdown in 2025, adding 33 catches for 186 yards in 11 games.
It doesn’t make much sense for a rebuilding New Orleans squad to keep the 30-year-old, so if the Saints can find a way to rehome him, you can bet they absolutely will.
