Nov 9, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) high fives New Orleans Saints running back Devin Neal (24) during the second quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Early Alvin Kamara Buzz Doesn't Follow Saints Trends

Originally posted on New Orleans Saints on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Jan 29, 2026 4:00 PM ET

The National Football League offseason has begun for the vast majority of teams around the league.

The only two teams left standing are the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, who will face off in Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8. The rest of the league is just kicking things off. The beginning of the offseason features a lot of head coach and coordinator decisions around the league. Last year, the Saints were in that boat as they had a head coach opening, which was filled by Kellen Moore. After that, the Saints filled out the staff and are in a good place now. One guy to worry about right now as a Saints fan is quarterbacks coach Scott Tolzien, who is interviewing for the Pittsburgh Steelers' offensive coordinator job.

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Outside of that, it's somewhat of a waiting game right now for New Orleans. The Saints already signed Julian Blackmon to a deal for 2026, but the heavy lifting will come after the Super Bowl. We'll start to see things really pick up after the Super Bowl. Teams will prepare for the 2026 NFL Draft, each team will have to get into cap compliance before the new league year, free agency and the trade market will kick off and then the NFL Draft will come in April. There's a lot of work to do and one of the first things to watch out for will be the financial decisions before the new league year. Right now, Over The Cap has the Saints just over $21 million over the salary cap. That doesn't sound great, but it's actually much better than at this time last year for New Orleans.

The Saints have decisions to make

Regardless, the Saints will have some decisions to make. Bleacher Report's Alex Ballentine wrote up a story discussing three potential cap casualties for each team but one missed the mark for New Orleans: Alvin Kamara.

"No. 3. RB Alvin Kamara - $8.5 million (Post-June 1)," Ballentine wrote. "The Saints would only save $359,529 against the cap if they cut Alvin Kamara before June 1. That doesn't mean that the running back is safe, though. Kamara has been one of the Saints biggest stars since they drafted him in 2017, but there's no denying that his age is starting to show.

"The 30-year-old back posted a career-low 657 yards from scrimmage and just one touchdown. The Saints don't have clear answers, but they might feel it's best to create the cap space they can by cutting him in June and building out a rotation with Devin Neal and Audric Estime."

On the financial side, it makes sense. But, this is just not how the Saints have operated in recent memory. Take a look at last offseason, for example. Similar things were said about guys like Cameron Jordan, Tyrann Mathieu and Taysom Hill. New Orleans ended up restructuring all three of the deals rather than moving on from any of them. Mathieu ended up retiring, but New Orleans didn't cut him.

The odds of the Saints cutting a team pillar like Kamara is slim. Instead, don't be surprised if you see some sort of contract restructuring before the new league year.

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This article first appeared on New Orleans Saints on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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