After the New Orleans Saints signed former Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. in NFL free agency, the immediate future of veteran star Alvin Kamara came into question, sparking trade rumors.
With the new league year underway, the NFL has already seen two blockbuster trades, with the New England Patriots acquiring star wide receiver A.J. Brown from the Philadelphia Eagles and the Los Angeles Rams pulling off a potential game-changing move to acquire superstar defensive end Myles Garrett.
Kamara was considered a potential next notable name to be moved, with the Saints clearly heading in another direction with Etienne as the lead back in New Orleans.
Alvin Kamara’s Future With Saints Still Remains Uncertain
Alvin Kamara #41 of the New Orleans Saints
According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, Kamara plans to play for the Saints in 2026, even if Etienne is the new lead back for the struggling franchise.
“Alvin Kamara is another one,” Garafolo said. “Now, this one, from my understanding, they did a tweak to his contract recently, and that prevented them from what I just talked about, which is designating him a post-June 1st cut and then waiting for the cap relief come June 1st. Like, they couldn’t do that at that point, once they tweaked the contract before. But now you’ve got yourself Travis Etienne, and yes, that’s how you pronounce his name, he made that clear, Travis Etienne, in the building for the Saints. And you go, ‘Well, is Kamara expendable?’
“Now, he’s got $3 million guaranteed. I did speak to his agent yesterday, Brad Cicala, and he said, look, we plan on playing for the Saints in 2026. That’s all I got for you. So we’ll see what happens with Kamara now that June 1st is here.”
It sounds like Kamara’s agent is saying all the right things about his client heading into a season of uncertainty for the two-time All-Pro, so there’s still a chance something happens between now and the start of the 2026 campaign.
Saints HC Kellen Moore Reacts to Alvin Kamara Being at OTAs
GettyHead coach Kellen Moore of the New Orleans Saints
Unexpectedly, Kamara showed up for OTAs, which Saints head coach Kellen Moore was not expecting but is happy it happened, according to Nick Underhill of NOF.
Although Kamara is no longer the dominant back he used to be and is no longer in the conversation for being the best running back in the NFL, the veteran can still provide some value for the Saints at 30 years old, when players at his position tend to start to decline.
During the 2025 NFL season, Kamara played in only 11 regular-season games, finishing with career lows in rushing yards (471), rushing touchdowns (1), receiving yards (186), and receiving touchdowns (0).
There’s a chance Kamara can have a bounce-back year in 2026 with Etienne helping shoulder the load in the backfield and second-year quarterback Tyler Shough potentially taking another step forward as one of the more promising young gunslingers in the NFL.
However, it remains to be seen how this situation pans out in the Big Easy, but it is definitely something to keep an eye on moving forward.
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