Alvin Kamara agreed to a restructured deal to stay in New Orleans, but his days as a high-volume workhorse are over after averaging a career-low 3.6 True Yards Per Carry (No. 58) in 2025. Soon after Underhill’s report, Ian Rapoport posted on X that Kamara’s base salary was reduced to $6 million for 2026.
The Saints committed heavy capital to Travis Etienne in free agency, and the former Jaguar will command the primary rushing share and goal-line duties regardless. Expect Kamara to settle into a specialized, pass-catching satellite role where he can utilize his remaining efficiency on high-value touches. While Kamara will have best ball utility, his presence damages Etienne’s ceiling. Etienne is PlayerProfiler’s RB15 heading into the 2026 season.
A sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, New Orleans Saints...
At times in his 2025 rookie campaign, New Orleans running ...
New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara appears to be ...
Nick Underhill notes the New Orleans Saints are pivoting to a post-Alvin Kamara reality, establishing Travis Etienne as the true three-down focal point of the offense. This high-volume prediction follows a season where Etienne commanded a 69.2-percent Opportunity Share and produced 13 total touchdowns on the ground and through the air.
At the same time, The New Orleans Times-Picayune’s Jeff Duncan writes that “it would not be shocking” if the New Orleans Saints parted ways with Alvin Kamara this offseason. A divorce “might be in the best interests of the star RB and the team that drafted him nine years ago.”
Operating as the team’s workhorse, Underhill projects Etienne to post 235 carries and 42 receptions yields a baseline of 231.5 PPR points, framing him as a high-end RB2 with definitive RB1 upside. At 27.4 years of age, Etienne is still an anchor RB for fantasy football dynasty leagues.
Alvin Kamara is on-track to play a key role for the Saints for now, but his ultimate endgame in New Orleans is completely up in the air as beat reporters look for clarity on his contract situation. The team has been actively utilizing newly signed Ty Chandler all over the formation, experimenting with a versatile satellite role out wide and in the slot that directly mirrors Kamara’s traditional utilization profile.
If Kamara is moved, projection models dictate a high-end workload for Travis Etienne coming off a 2025 season where he logged 260 carries and a 4.3-yard rushing average. However, if Kamara is in a Saints uniform Week 1 of the NFL season, it caps Etienne’s weekly ceiling. Regardless of Kamara’s roster status, the Saints offense will provide enough scoring opportunities for Etienne to post fantasy RB1 numbers in 2026.
Ugh. Alvin Kamara and the Saints front office are in a contract standoff over a requested pay cut, though team officials still expect the veteran to attend minicamp next week. Following a down 2025 campaign where he averaged just 3.6 True Yards Per Carry (No. 58) and scored just one total touchdown, Kamara is currently trending toward remaining in New Orleans for the final year of his deal.
The structural shift in this backfield will relegate Kamara to a secondary option behind newly acquired free agent Travis Etienne who should earn at least a 60-percent Opportunity Share this season after signing a 4-year, $47 million contract this past offseason. Kamara projects to offer minimal standalone value with marginal contingent value as a quintessential zombie handcuff. Most unfortunately, he will likely cannibalize a handful of touches from primary back Etienne each week.
Sure. As a competitive human, Alvin Kamara is about as enthusiastic about the Saints signing Etienne as Kyle Shanahan was about John Lynch’s crazy De’Zhaun Stribling pick. With one foot in retirement and one in the NFL, Kamara has no choice but to express optimism about a potential backfield partnership. Kellen Moore also commented that there is “no timeline” for figuring out Kamara’s roster status.
Kamara’s most efficient seasons were achieved next to Mark Ingram, and he is putting his best foot forward. Kamara’s genuine commitment to the team is evident through his proactive training and film study of rookie Jordyn Tyson, signaling a strong desire to remain in New Orleans. Despite a high 2026 cap hit that may necessitate contract restructuring, all signs indicate that Kamara will be on the field for the Saints this season and is currently a value in all fantasy formats.
Fantasy managers caught a tough break on Sunday when Devin Neal left the Week 15 matchup with the Panthers with a hamstring injury. Adding insult to injury was the fact that Neal got hurt while scoring a touchdown.
With fantasy football being a cruel game, the next man up mentality endures. With Alvin Kamara dealing with injuries of his own it is looking like the Saints will be a split backfield of both Audric Estime and Evan Hull. The matchup with the Jets is juicy. While the split backfield isn’t fun, Estime is an appealing upside play amongst the 2 backs. Given that this is not ideal, fantasy gamers should exhaust other options if they can.
Author: Jeremiah Retzlaff (@coachretzlaff1)
