New Orleans Saints coach Kellen Moore did little Thursday to brush off rumors of Alvin Kamara’s potential departure when asked about the veteran playmaker’s future. Days after signing free agent running back Travis Etienne to a four-year deal — and after Kamara agreed to a restructured contract for 2026 that provides the Saints flexibility — Moore was asked if he felt the former All-Pro would be part of his offense.
“We’d like to go through that process, certainly. So, we feel, obviously we know Alvin means a lot to us,” Moore said. “Again, we’re three days into this thing, we signed Travis and we’ll go through that process.”
Kamara missed the final six games of the 2025 campaign with an MCL injury and finished with a career-low 471 yards and one touchdown on the ground. His receiving totals were also the worst of his career — 33 catches on 39 targets for 186 yards.
The follow-up question centered on the possibility that Kamara, a five-time Pro Bowler, could retire.
“I’m not going to get into all that stuff right now. I haven’t had those conversations in any way,” Moore said.
For more 2026 NFL free agency coverage:
Kamara has one year remaining on the two-year, $24.5 million contract he signed in October 2024. However, the Saints shaved $8.1 million off their 2026 salary cap by converting much of what remained on his deal into a signing bonus.
Etienne likely enters camp as New Orleans’ RB1, with Kamara serving as a complementary piece in the backfield if he remains with the team. Making Kamara’s contract more team-friendly also strengthens the possibility of the Saints shipping him elsewhere via trade.
“We’ll go through that whole process, we know we love Alvin and Travis is a really special player,” Moore said. “We identified him and felt this was a really good fit. Really good timing. He’s kind of gone through those first few years of this lineage. He had to navigate some stuff early in his career, got through that, and then I thought last year his film was really, really good. Felt like schematically it was a nice little marriage with what they were doing with Liam (Coen).
“Some of the run concepts they were doing and stuff we’d like to utilize. He’s got some ability to play in the passing game. Protections, he’s got some there. He’s still young and will keep getting better. It was really cool to get the opportunity to sign him and bring him here.”
Etienne has eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards in three of his first four NFL seasons and has shown durability at the position. The Saints finished 6-11 in Moore’s first season last fall, finishing fourth in the NFC South despite winning four of their final five games.
Ahead of last season’s trade deadline, Kamara said he had no interest in playing for another franchise. Kamara, who has spent all nine NFL seasons with the team that selected him in 2017, is the Saints’ all-time leader in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns and all-purpose yards.
“If (Saints GM) Mickey (Loomis) comes down and says that, I’m going to drink a piña colada somewhere,” Kamara said via the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
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