The Saints’ Handling of Alvin Kamara Is Bewildering

Saints Restructure Kamara and Sign Etienne

On March 6, the Saints converted $10.155 million of Alvin Kamara’s base salary into a quasi-signing bonus using the 50% rule. This special conversion allowed them to free up cap space for the 2026 season without giving Kamara any more guaranteed money than he was already due.

As Saints reporter Nick Underhill noted, Justin Reid, Juwan Johnson, and Chase Young did not do this conversion, but did the standard signing bonus conversion, which does increase guarantees. Thus, with only one year remaining on his contract, it seems the Saints had it in their mind that Kamara may not be with them for the 2026 season.

Three days later, the Saints announced they were signing free agent RB Travis Etienne Jr. to a four-year, $52 million contract. The signing of Etienne, a Louisiana high school standout, was part of a larger effort to improve the weapons around sophomore QB Tyler Shough.

That same day, NFL reporter Adam Schefter posted on X that “there now are questions around the league” about Alvin Kamara’s future in New Orleans and his trade status, and that “teams are tracking and wondering about it.”

On March 12, Saints Head Coach Kellen Moore avoided giving any direct answer to questions about Kamara’s future, saying merely, “We’ll go through that whole process,” “We love Alvin,” and “Alvin means a lot to us.”

On March 30, at the 2026 NFL Owners Meetings, Moore continued to speak vaguely and indirectly regarding Kamara’s future. However, he did say that Kamara “is on the roster and part of that running back room.”

For all of April, there was no news on Kamara.

Kamara and Loomis Finally Speak, but Not to Each Other

On May 4, Kamara spoke for the first time, appearing on former Saints left tackle Terron Armstead‘s podcast, “The Set.” Kamara expressed complete approval of Etienne’s signing, saying it gave him “some help in the backfield.” Kamara compared the new duo to the 1-2 punch the Saints had at the beginning of his career with himself and Mark Ingram. “I’m excited to see what we can do together,” Kamara said.

Unlike with Moore and the Saints, it was clear what Kamara wanted regarding his future — to be in New Orleans for 2026.

On May 18, Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis gave the clearest update on Kamara’s status from the organization’s side yet. Loomis stated that they are “trying to see how [Kamara’s] going to fit on [their] roster,” and that “there’s a resource management element” to it. Loomis then clarified that the resource management comment was an allusion to Kamara’s contract. However, Loomis said that they had not offered Kamara any reworked deal.

Loomis also stated that the arrival of OTAs (Organized Team Activities) on May 27 set a soft deadline to resolve the Kamara situation.

However, on May 28, Coach Moore said that there was no timeline for any resolution with Kamara.

Alvin Kamara’s Surprise OTA Appearance

Kamara did not arrive for voluntary OTAs on May 27, but his absence was usual, as Kamara regularly skips OTAs to train on his own. Therefore, it came as a total shock when Kamara arrived for the June 3 OTA offseason workout. Moore said he did not expect to see Kamara report, but was excited to see him there.

Moore further stated that he believed Kamara “could fit in really well” with his vision for the offense when asked but denied that Kamara’s appearance meant there had been any developments or resolution regarding his situation. He referred to the “business side of things” and alluded to Etienne’s signing when asked why there was this drama surrounding Kamara’s future in New Orleans when he was under contract for the year.

Moore added that he had not spoken to Kamara before his surprise arrival.

Kamara Speaks at Length

Meanwhile, Kamara fielded questions, mostly regarding his future, for over 13 minutes. Kamara stated that he was excited to be there and reiterated that there was no conflict between him and Etienne. He asserted that he was under contract for the upcoming season and was treating this offseason as usual. Regarding business matters, Kamara stated that the front office had talked with his agent but that he hadn’t spoken to anybody and told reporters to “ask Mickey [Loomis].”

“I’m prepared. I’m under contract. I still got my locker… My fingerprints still work at the door. I guess I’m here, right?” Kamara stated.

When asked if he would take a pay cut, Kamara did not shoot down the idea. “I don’t know… I think there’s a time and a place for everything,” Kamara answered. However, Kamara also said that he had not had any such conversations. “If that conversation comes up, I’ll have an answer for you when it comes up,” Kamara replied.

“On my side, I feel no pressure. There’s no beef or bad blood,” Kamara stated. “I’m doing what I do every year — working. Whatever decisions that got to be made, they’ll be made.”

Nonetheless, it was Kamara’s only appearance, as he did not report to any of the other OTA workouts.

The Arrival of Saints’ Minicamp Didn’t Make Things Any Clearer

When mandatory veteran minicamp rolled around on June 16 and 17, things seemingly got stranger rather than clearer.

Moore announced that Kamara and veteran defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd would be limited for minicamp due to missing a substantial number of OTA workouts. Per Nick Underhill, Moore said ahead of practice, “Those two will probably be ramping up.” However, as Underhill went on to note, Shepherd got reps in the team portion of practice with the second and third teams. Kamara was not involved in the team period at all and only participated in individual drills.

Instead, new free agent signing Ty Chandler seemed to take his place in the team period. “During the last practice, the Saints had Ty Chandler lining up everywhere in the formation — out wide, from the slot, in the backfield — and all I could keep thinking was that Alvin Kamara should be in those spots,” wrote Underhill.

Even more strangely, Underhill stated, “I’m told still no talks have occurred on revamping, redoing, lowering — nothing. No conversations with anything to do on [Kamara’s] contract to this point.”

The week before, Moore had said, “I think that’s how you always prepare,” regarding whether Kamara would be on the team for the upcoming season. Yet it seems the Saints were preparing for the opposite outcome.

What Are the Saints Doing?

It’s unclear what the Saints could do to make the Kamara situation more confusing.

Do they want Kamara on the roster? Then, why have Moore and Loomis been so non-committal towards him?

Do they want Kamara gone? Then, why haven’t they released or traded him?

Do they want Kamara to take a pay cut? Then, why haven’t they offered a reworked deal?

Do they not know what they want? Perhaps!

The Saints’ behavior would be understandable if this were a two-sided standoff, but it’s not. Kamara has made it clear that he wants to be a Saint. He’s happy with things as they are. But even more, he seems to be willing to cooperate with the front office and may even be willing to take a pay cut.

Thus, it is completely asinine that the Saints have not even offered Kamara a reworked deal when his contract is the apparent stumbling block.

The reality is that there seems to be no good reason for the Saints to be doing what they are doing. The cryptic speech by Moore and Loomis, combined with the lack of any action from the front office, is inexplicable. Perhaps they are waiting for someone to trade for Kamara, but wouldn’t another team be more likely to do so if he had a reworked, cheaper contract?

Are the Saints Acting Spitefully Towards Kamara?

Not only is the Saints’ handling of Kamara unfathomable, but it is also disrespectful. Former Saints’ Safety Tyrann Mathieu has voiced his disapproval of the Saints’ treatment of Kamara for this reason. “This is not the way you treat your all-time touchdown leader,” said Mathieu.

Yet, Mathieu does not think incompetence is the sole reason for the Saints’ bizarre management of Kamara. He thinks it is malice.

“One of my good sources told me, a few people in that building, they are mad at Kamara because of the way he sort of spearheaded getting Dennis Allen fired,” stated Matthieu. “So you got somebody fired, but you didn’t produce neither… I think a few of those decision-makers who were in love with Dennis Allen… I think some people picked a side.”

Underhill seconded Mathieu’s criticism of the way they’ve treated Kamara. “It’s not being handled with the care you would expect a player of Alvin’s stature who’s given so much to the team for it to be handled with… He’s a legend. He’s a legend. If this is the end, you just thought it would’ve been handled a certain type of way,” said Underhill.

Underhill disagreed that the Saints’ behavior stemmed from a grudge over Allen’s firing. However, he cited Kamara’s annual skipping of OTAs as a source of strife between Kamara and the organization. “I think if there’s beef, it’s about how he handles the offseason and stuff like that. I think it’s just become one of those sore spots,” stated Underhill.

While it may not be clear if there are any ulterior motives behind the Saints’ treatment of Kamara, it is clear that the organization is not handling the situation in a way that respects Kamara’s contributions to the franchise.

The Saints Need to Resolve This Alvin Kamara Situation

The more the Saints wait to resolve this Alvin Kamara debacle, the worse it looks for the franchise. With each day that passes, the Saints’ front office looks either more incompetent or malicious — neither of which is a good look. Finding a potential franchise QB is a good way to boost the team’s attractiveness to free agents. A front office developing a reputation of malice or incompetence, especially regarding franchise legends, is a good way to knock themselves back down a few points.

It is also detrimental to the team. The Saints went through minicamp not knowing whether or not Kamara would be on the roster. Now, the team is not up to speed on any plays designed for Kamara. Nor is Kamara.

If the Saints go through training camp with Kamara’s status still unresolved, this problem is exacerbated. The Saints will, once again, basically not incorporate Kamara into practice, instead treating everything as normal.

If they do the former and Kamara is on their roster come Week 1, they will put themselves and Kamara even further behind. If they do the latter and Kamara is not on their roster come Week 1, then they’ve wasted reps on a guy who won’t be playing for them. That would be especially egregious given how crowded and competitive the running back room behind Kamara is.

Even worse, if the situation is truly unresolved, the Saints won’t know which one to do.

But even if they do know what they are going to do but sit on it, Kamara will be a huge distraction. Instead of attention being on camp standouts, it will be on the future of their RB2. It wouldn’t be fair to Kamara either, and the front office’s reputation for malice would grow. Nobody wants that.

If the contract is truly the issue, at least talk to him. He may even be willing to take a pay cut.

More on Kamara to Come

In a second article, I’ll address what the Saints should do regarding Kamara. But the bottom line is they must do something.

Saints’ Training Camp starts July 28. We’ll see if this debacle is resolved before then.