The Saints are finalizing a contract restructure with RB Alvin Kamara, according to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.football. The contract adjustment likely confirms that Kamara will stick with the team this season. He had been set to cost the team nearly $10.5 million in cap space for 2026, the final year on his deal.
What They're Saying
Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team: "There had been significant speculation that Kamara could be the odd man out because of his high salary and the team's signing of Travis Etienne, but he'll remain in New Orleans."
2026 Fantasy Football Impact
Such speculation always struck me as misguided. According to Spotrac, cutting or trading Kamara would have cost the team $18.2 million in dead cap space.
I don't know nearly enough about NFL finances to understand the actual cash impact, but it never seemed likely that the team would just dump him at such an expense. And Kamara's too far past his prime to make sense as an expensive acquisition for some other team.
He'll now (apparently) stick with a team that just added Travis Etienne on a four-year, $48 million pact. That clearly points to Etienne taking over the backfield, and we're projecting him to lead the incumbent in both carries and targets.
There do, however, seem to be plenty of fantasy football drafters and analysts who have been treating Etienne as though Kamara would be leaving. If his ADP dips from its current RB16 position in best ball, then Etienne could become worth targeting.
Kamara stunk last year and doesn't look like a difference maker from any draft position.
