Alvin Kamara is staying put in New Orleans
The Saints’ all-time leading rusher has agreed to a restructured deal to remain in New Orleans, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported on Wednesday afternoon
“Alvin’s goal, and the team’s goal, was for him to remain with the Saints and retire a Saint,” Kamara’s agent, Brad Cicala, told Garafolo
New Orleans.Football‘s Nick Underhill first reported the news that Kamara was finalizing a deal on The Set with Terron Armstead
The new deal effectively concludes the uncertainty regarding Kamara, who was entering the final year of a two-year, $24.5 million contract with a Saints club that added Travis Etienne this offseason and put the future of Kamara, who will be 31 in 10 days, in doubt. But Kamara won’t be released or retiring. He’ll be running it back with the Saints, looking to add on to a resume that includes nine seasons, five Pro Bowls, 12,198 yards from scrimmage and 516 career points
The 30-year-old Kamara, who’s scored more points for the Saints than any non-kicker in history, began his career as the 2017 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and heads into Year 10 having run for 7,250 yards and 61 touchdowns, and tallied 606 receptions (second in club chronicle) for 4,948 yards (fifth) and 25 more touchdowns
Kamara’s future — with the only team he’s played for and in the NFL, overall — had been a matter in question for some time, but those questions increased after the signing of Etienne
Second-year Saints head coach Kellen Moore initially did his best to avoid directly discussing what could lay ahead with Kamara. Later, he deemed that the Saints had a great situation with Kamara and Etienne both on board in the RB room, and Kamara himself spoke about looking forward to another season in the Big Easy. That’s the plan now
Memorably, Kamara said last season that he would “go drink a pina colada somewhere” if the Saints traded him, rather than play for another team
Each of Kamara’s Pro Bowl selections came over the first five seasons of his career, when he was a perfect complement to quarterback Drew Brees under head coach Sean Payton. Kamara quickly became one of the elite dual threats out of the backfield
Starting in Kamara’s rookie year of 2017, New Orleans went to the playoffs in four consecutive seasons with a matching streak of NFC South titles
Kamara, who stunningly has never had a 1,000-yard rushing season, had 1,500-plus scrimmage yards in three of his first four seasons, and north of 80 catches in all of his first four campaigns
In 2024, Kamara posted 1,493 scrimmage yards — his highest tally since his stellar 2020 showing, but to say he’d slowed a step would certainly be accurate. In 2025, under then-rookie head coach Moore, Kamara missed multiple games with a knee sprain. His totals of 657 scrimmage yards and a single touchdown were lows for his career
As the Saints are seemingly entering a fresh era, Kamara’s return, coupled with bringing back Cameron Jordan, is a sign that not everything is changing in New Orleans. Not just yet anyway
