NFL teams have spent a different pace transferring big names ahead of this year’s in-season trade deadline, with Davante Adams and Amari Cooper finding untouched homes in recent days. Now, the Fresh Orleans Saints will have to miss a beat buying groceries for one of their most successful players: star running back Alvin Kamara.
Thursday was always expected to be ugly for Fresh Orleans, with a seriously banged-up lineup facing the defensive tone of their old friend Sean Payton, the Denver Broncos, and so it was. The Saints lost 33-10. What the Saints’ helpless appearance suggested, on the other hand, is that things could get worse. Quarterback Derek Carr remains ill along with many others. Rookie Spencer Rattler doesn’t have a coherent solid support to lean on.
And Kamara, once a poster child for dual-threat playmakers and an incredibly central piece of the club’s now-forgotten surge to begin the 2024 season, has a divergent position amid the chaos.
The five-time Pro Bowler only faced a half-dozen carries in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s blowout. Cameras caught him visibly angry with the Saints’ past performance in the game. And now he’s averaged less than 3.5 yards per lift in 4 of his last 5 matchups, gasping in the breeze on the backside of a besieged inning. As if that weren’t enough, the Saints saved him on the ground deep into the fourth quarter against Denver, dropping 23 points on rehabbing starters like Carr, Taysom Hill, etc. seen very easily from the appearance.
When running at full speed in a healthy lineup, Kamara is still capable of spreading plays. But if the Saints would commit to embracing their own stubborn tendency, confronting reality and inclusion rather than facing a long-term rebuild, they would promote that home run ability to the rest of the NFL. A return wouldn’t necessarily be luxurious for a 29-year-old running back with a history of trauma and a high 2025 price tag; Kamara is owed a whopping $29 million in the last 12 months of a commitment extension he signed in 2020.
That would be one thing, though, and the acquiring group could simply view it as a midseason condo, considering Kamara will also be exempt during the offseason to save between $18 million and $25 million in 2025. Which teams golf could be suitors, will the Saints actually have land or will they request a trade? Below are 3 possibilities:
Kamara may need to redo his offer to facilitate this, taking into account Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ unwillingness to pay a max fee for, say, Derrick Henry during the offseason. However, Dallas lacks serious strength in the field game, and Dak Prescott could benefit from a more ambitious team of secondary targets closer to CeeDee Lamb. Kamara would surely get a more dazzling highlight here.
Denver Broncos
That’s right. Sean Payton didn’t want Kamara to go over his age group on Thursday, but Fresh Orleans may be robbed of his old friend just to definitively plug the buildup into his tenure with the Saints. The Broncos already have a committee backfield, one that leans heavily toward the running game, and Kamara’s pass-catching prowess would give rookie quarterback Bo Nix possibly his easiest defensive valve yet.
Everyone’s talking about a potential big receiver deal for the reigning Super Bowl champions, but what blockbuster reinforcement for the backfield up and running, with Isiah Pacheco injured? Kareem Hunt has done well in peace, but can he stay healthy down the stretch? Andy Reid would almost certainly want a backup with more upside, and Kamara would give him another all-purpose weapon for Patrick Mahomes.
