How Does Alvin Kamara’s Official Spot on the Roster Change the Rushing Attack Moving Forward

Yesterday, the New Orleans Saints made a big move to rework Alvin Kamara's contract. This move was one that felt like it was going to happen since the star RB showed up to OTAs which surprised many. He forced the Saints hand and gained some power in negotiations, but even with that in mind, Kamara dropped his base salary to $6 million next season. 

Financially, it's going to be interesting to see how this impacts the Saints' moves moving forward and if any other money was moved for Kamara's time after this season. Like with Cam Jordan, who also made his return this offseason, 2026 is likely going to be Kamara's last season in the NFL. The Saints were able to find someone to take most of the workload moving forward by signing Travis Etienne, but there will need to be someone brought in to replace Kamara after this season. Yes, Devin Neal, Kendre Miller, and Audric Estime are a group that could have that replacement, but there's a real chance the Saints will be looking for another partner to put with Etienne in 2027. 

Speaking of that group of depth RBs, it's going to be interesting to see how much impact the Kamara news has. Kendre Miller has all the potential in the world, Devin Neal is a consistent RB that brings something the duo of Kamara and Etienne do not, and Estime stepped up last season when the running game looked like it could be a major issue. All three of these players have their issues, but they also have great cases to stay on the roster for this season. The only issue is that the Saints usually take 4 RBs into the regular season. 

All of these depth chart conversations are beginning to really ramp up with training camp near, and this RB confusion is one of them. Etienne and Kamara take up the top two spots, and then leave two more. One of Miller, Estime, or Neal will no longer be on the roster, and maybe in the end, it will come down to availability. 

Focusing again on that duo of Etienne and Kamara, it's going to be interesting to see what happens. This duo could be truly dynamic in 2026 and open up the offense so much due to their pass catching ability, but they do not have the down the middle running that this team may need on short yardage situations.