The New Orleans Saints are banking on five-time Pro Bowl running back Alvin Kamara to return to form this coming season.
From 2017-22, Kamara was among the most-dynamic backs in the game. That included the former Tennessee star averaging 1,481 total yards and 12 touchdowns.
The 28-year-old running back saw a downtick in production this past season, putting up 1,150 total yards and just six touchdowns. It had led to previous speculation that the Saints might move on from him.
We now have somewhat of a surprising update on Kamara’s status. According to various media reports, he was absent from the final day of Saints mandatory minicamp on Thursday. NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reports that said absence is indeed contract related.
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Alvin Kamara contract and future with the New Orleans Saints
Kamara signed a five-year, $75 million deal with New Orleans back in September of 2020. He has since restructured the deal multiple times to help the Saints’ cap situation.
It appears that Kamara now want to be rewarded for that.
At issue here for New Orleans is that Kamara’s deal comes with an $18.21 million dead cap hit for the 2024 season. The team might be forced into a corner by forking over a new deal.
Kamara’s $15 million average annual salary does make him the second highest-paid running back in the NFL behind Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers. The decision to holdout comes after McCaffrey inked a two-year, $38 million extension with San Francisco just recently.