With the Saints sitting at 1-4 and expected to sell before the Nov. 4 trade deadline, running back Alvin Kamara stands out as someone who could move in the next few weeks. While Kamara has drawn interest from other teams, he’s unlikely to go anywhere, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports.

Still under team control through next season on the two-year, $26.5MM extension he signed last October, Kamara has no intention of leaving New Orleans. While Kamara does not have a no-trade clause, general manager Mickey Loomis approached the five-time Pro Bowler to gauge his interest in a change of scenery. He told Loomis his goal remains to play his entire career with the Saints. Kamara is so committed to a one-team career that he’d potentially retire if a trade occurred, according to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football.

[RELATED: Several Saints Drawing Trade Interest]

Now 30 years old, Kamara has been with the franchise since it used a third-round pick on the ex-Tennessee Volunteer in 2017. Eight years later, Kamara is the Saints’ leader in career rushing yards and touchdowns. The longtime dual threat ranks second in team history in receptions.

Five games into 2025, Kamara has seen his effectiveness wane as part of one of the NFL’s lowest-scoring offenses. His 3.9 yards per carry on 73 attempts is among the lowest of his career. While Kamara has added 17 receptions, he has averaged a paltry 4.5 yards per catch.

Moving to a contender before the deadline could lead to a jump in production for Kamara. The Chargers are among playoff hopefuls looking for help in the backfield. However, it doesn’t appear that they or anyone else will be able to pry Kamara out of New Orleans.

The Saints managed their first win of the season on Sunday. That milestone for the likes of quarterback Spencer Rattler (who was winless heading into today) and first-year head coach Kellen Moore should not be expected to alter New Orleans’ approach to the trade deadline.

Now sitting at 1-4 on the year, the team is not in a strong position to compete for the playoffs. As such, it would come as little surprise if the Saints adopted a sellers’ stance on the trade front over the coming weeks. Indeed, Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports reports New Orleans is among the teams expected to move on from one or more veterans before the deadline.

Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football confirms the Saints have players which have drawn interest around the league. He adds the team is expected to listen to offers once suitors make inquiries. Given the overhaul witnessed on the sidelines and at a number of positions this offseason, expectations were low entering the campaign in the Saints’ case. A slow start to the season will no doubt influence general manager Mickey Loomis’ willingness to swing one or more trades in the near future.

Running back Alvin Kamara is understandably considered a name to watch closely in that regard. The five-time Pro Bowler has spent his entire career – which is now in its ninth season – with the Saints, but he would provide an acquiring team with a notable addition in the backfield. Kamara, 30, is under contract through 2026. $3MM of his scheduled salary for next season ($11.5MM) is guaranteed, so he would likely not be considered a rental for the stretch run of the current campaign.

Kamara’s base pay for 2025 includes only $2.99MM in salary, a prorated portion of which would be paid out by any team which swung a deal for him. The Saints would take on dead money charges with a trade, though, and Underhill predicts Kamara will not be dealt. There is not a no-trade clause included in this case, which means the possibility of a swap could nevertheless remain a talking point until the deadline.

Wideout Chris Olave has been mentioned as a player the Saints could move on from due to his injury history, but it would still come as a surprise if the team contemplated such a trade after picking up his fifth-year option this spring. In any case, New Orleans will be a team to watch, especially if attention shifts toward next season by the time the deadline is reached.

Alvin Kamara walked out on the final day of the Saints’ minicamp as part of his effort to secure a new contract. No agreement was reached, but the veteran back has enjoyed a stellar start to the season while putting negotiations on hold.

A deal was within reach at times during the offseason. As Ian Rapoport of NFL Network writes, talks on a new pact took place throughout the spring with a resolution appearing to be “close” at points during that process. At issue, to no surprise, was the 2025 season. The final year of Kamara’s deal calls for a non-guaranteed base salary of $22.4MM and an untenable cap hit of just over $29MM. Both team and player have operated on the assumption that year will not play out as it is currently projected to.

New Orleans’ efforts to work out an agreement were aimed to attaining clarity for 2025 (and, no doubt, lowering Kamara’s cap hit in the process). The 29-year-old sought a market-level agreement with respect to guaranteed compensation, a price point which changed as the offseason unfolded. Saquon Barkley landed an Eagles deal averaging over $12.5MM per season; that pact includes $26MM in locked in compensation. Christian McCaffrey then agreed to a 49ers extension and in doing so moved the top of the RB market to $19MM per season.

Kamara sits second at an AAV of $15MM, but that figure is inflated by his projected 2025 earnings. The Barkley and McCaffrey accords, Rapoport notes, altered the nature of negotiations between Kamara and the Saints. The sides were unable to come to terms on a pact including a new figure for 2025 but also years tacked onto that point, resulting in the eventual stalemate.

A strong season would help the five-time Pro Bowler’s chances of landing another lucrative Saints contract in the spring. Kamara racked up 110 scrimmage yards in the season opener, then topped that with a four-touchdown showing in Week 2 which included 180 total yards. New Orleans’ offense has been impressive to date, and remaining a focal point for the unit would increase his leverage during the next round of contract talks.

Kamara is due a $2MM roster bonus on the fifth day of the 2025 league year, so it would come as no surprise if a new arrangement were to be in place before that point. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the campaign unfolds as it pertains to Kamara’s production after he had a career-low output in 2023. A mutual interest clearly exists between team and player, though, and the coming offseason is unlikely to see as many financial developments at the running back position as the 2024 one, meaning clarity could emerge in this case.

Alvin Kamara made it clear he was interested in an adjustment to his contract this offseason. No arrangement was made between the Pro Bowl back and the Saints, however, and both parties’ attention will now turn to the 2024 campaign.

Kamara has two years remaining on his contract, but the 2025 season currently calls for a non-guaranteed base salary of $22.4MM. New Orleans would have a cap charge of just over $29MM next season in the absence of a restructure, a release or a trade sending Kamara to a new team. Knowing how unrealistic that scenario is, the 29-year-old left the Saints’ minicamp early as part of an effort to work out a new arrangement.

2024 has Kamara set to collect $11.8MM in what will all-but certainly be the final year of his $75MM 2020 extension. The running back market has not taken off like those of many other positions since that time, and his age is a factor working against his ability to land a lucrative third contract. Kamara did not engage in a training camp holdout as talks on a new deal took place. With the regular season at hand, though, the time for negotiations has passed and he is prepared to pick up negotiations in the spring (video link via Fletcher Mackel of WDSU).

Kamara was short on leverage in contract talks – which are not believed to have yielded much progress toward an agreement – entering the 2024 season given the term left on his deal. He could help his position with a strong campaign this year after he set a career low in rushing (694) and scrimmage (1,160) yards in 2023. The former Offensive Rookie of the Year missed three games due to suspension and was limited to only 12 contests last year; a fully healthy slate could lead to a rebound in production. Comments made on his situation earlier in the summer suggested Kamara would take this stance.

New Orleans also has veteran Jamaal Williams, 2023 third-rounder Kendre Miller and undrafted rookie Jordan Mims on the active roster in the backfield. Kamara is positioned to once again handle lead back duties this year, and his showing in that role will inform how the Saints proceed with his contract next offseason.

Operating as the NFL’s restructure standard bearers for years, the Saints have not touched Alvin Kamara‘s deal this offseason. The veteran running back’s contract, which the team adjusted multiple times since it was finalized in 2020, now looms as one that could generate significant savings for the perennially cap-strapped team come 2025.

No running back has been tied to a deal longer than Kamara, who saw the Bengals ship Joe Mixon (extended in September 2020) to the Texans and the Packers cut Aaron Jones (re-signed in March 2021). The 49ers redid Christian McCaffrey‘s contract this offseason, moving the reigning Offensive Player of the Year off the April 2020 extension that had not been topped. Kamara’s accord still sits second among RBs in terms of AAV, but the former Pro Bowler sees how this process will likely play out.

Kamara left minicamp a day early due to a pursuit of a new deal but reported to training camp on time. Elaborating on his stance Wednesday, the eighth-year RB said (via ESPN.com’s Katherine Terrell) he is not asking for “anything crazy” terms-wise.

He does not have too much choice in the matter, but the former Sean Payton-era chess piece said (via NewOrleans.football’s Nick Underhill) he will play on his current contract if the Saints do not agree to adjust it. (Though, when asked to clarify that stance, Kamara was less definitive, per NOLA.com’s Luke Johnson.) The former third-round pick is not holding in, participating fully in New Orleans’ practice Wednesday.

Just ahead of Kamara’s fourth season, the Saints gave him a five-year, $75MM deal but one that included a phony final season — along the lines of the deals Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill would sign two years later — to inflate the AAV. Kamara’s deal no longer contains any guarantees, though as a vested veteran, he would see his 2024 base salary ($10.2MM) lock in just before Week 1. In 2025, however, the Saints could cut Kamara and save $18.9MM. Considering Mickey Loomis‘ operation is again projected to enter its own sector when it comes to cap hell — early OverTheCap projections have New Orleans $88MM-plus over next year, $40MM more than any other team — Kamara’s pact would be a natural place to turn for savings.

Kamara, who will turn 29 on Thursday, has been open to a restructure. The Saints went to that well in 2022 and 2023. Another restructure would put more dead money on future New Orleans caps, stripping the team of rare flexibility. The sides have not made progress here; Kamara confirmed as much today. The Saints will not pay Kamara his $22.4MM base salary in 2025, creating this staredown.

“I want to be a Saint; I want to retire here,” Kamara said, via Johnson. “If I’ve got to play football somewhere else, I’ll probably be somewhere with my feet kicked up in Africa somewhere. I want to be a Saint.”

Being tied to a non-rookie deal for five seasons is fairly rare territory for a modern running back, as Kamara has done well to collect most of the extension’s money. Opening his career with five straight Pro Bowls, Kamara has slowed down. Last year’s 1,160-yard output from scrimmage marked a career-low number, and the ex-Drew Brees sidekick produced the fourth-worst rushing yards over expected number (minus-99) last season. Kamara has missed 10 games — due to injury and his 2023 suspension — since 2021.

Barring a substantial pay-cut agreement for 2025, Kamara is likely going into his final season with the Saints. Battling uphill in his effort to land a new contract, Kamara can attempt to use this season as a bounce-back opportunity for what could be his final notable NFL deal next year.

Alvin Kamara is not satisfied with his contract status, but he will not engage in a hold out during training camp. The Saints running back has reported with the rest of the team’s veterans, per Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.football.

Players not on rookie contracts are subject to $50K in mandatory daily fines if they hold out. As a result, it comes as no surprise Kamara has elected to attend training camp as he continues to seek an a new or reworked deal. He could nevertheless engage in a hold in by declining to participate in on-field work.

The soon-to-be 29-year-old walked out of the final practice during minicamp, a move known to be tied to his financial situation. Kamara has two years remaining on his pact, but his scheduled 2025 compensation includes a non-guaranteed $22.5MM base salary. The coming campaign is therefore – for all intents and purposes – his walk year.

Team and player are not believed to be close to working out an agreement, and if that remains the case through the start of training camp Kamara may very well elect to stay off the field. The five-time Pro Bowler maintained his record of topping 1,100 scrimmage yards each year of his career in 2023 despite missing the first three games of the campaign through suspension. He is positioned to once again handle lead back duties in 2024.

Given the nature of the veteran running back market, though, even a strong season could make it difficult for Kamara to land another lucrative pact. The former third-rounder is open to incentives being added to his current deal – rather than an extension keeping him place beyond 2025. It will be interesting to see if progress is made in the coming days with respect to a resolution being found.