A massive remaining question seems to have been answered
Going into the offseason, Alvin Kamara's future with the team was really never in question, but after some press conferences from Kellen Moore, things changed. It became very clear, very quickly, that the organization was not willing to place confidence in Kamara being with the team next season. Speculation swirled among the fanbase, with many wondering whether the Saints were pushing to have Kamara no longer on the team or whether Kamara was ready to leave football.
Nobody really knew what was going on with Kamara, and after signing Travis Etienne to a massive contract, a future without the veteran RB on the roster felt likely. Well, on Saints legend Terron Armstead's podcast, Kamara and the former offensive lineman discussed the current state of the Saints, and Kamara made every statement as if he had every intent to play next season in New Orleans.
Getting some type of solid clarification on this situation was needed, and now, we can move foward with the idea that Kamara is in the Saints offense for another year. The interesting thing with his contract is if it gets reworked, because as of now, the Saints have one of the most expensive RB rooms in the NFL. For a team in year 2 of a rebuild, that is not the best situation to be in. This season, Kamara has around a $10 million cap hit, and when his contract ends after this season, he will have an $8 million dead cap hit.
Although Kamara is here to play in 2026, it is very likely his last season in the NFL. He has been very vocal about wanting to play for the Saints only, and with New Orleans moving into a new future led by Etienne, the team wants to go in a different direction when Kamara's contract is up. Also, he will be 32 going into the 2027 season.
Looking at just 2026, it will be very interesting to see what the lineup will look like. Etienne is not really an RB that should be given the bulk of the workload, so Kamara should be able to get a good amount of snaps. Also, he is a good complement to Etienne, who is more of a home run hitter. That third RB is going to be a very interesting spot, because there will be a real battle throughout Saints training camp between Devin Neal, Kendre Miller, Audric Estime, and Ty Chandler.