THE New Orleans Saints may regret waiting to sign Alvin Kamara. He proved to be an even better fit in Klint Kubiak’s offense than expected. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport As Kamara pointed out Sunday morning, offseason efforts to secure a new contract came to nothing. He has since postponed talks until 2025 and focused on playing his best football.
And there’s no arguing with the results. Kamara enters Week 3 leading the league in yards from scrimmage (290) and touchdowns scored (5). Kubiak’s zone-based running scheme has opened up a lot of lanes for Kamara to work with, and they’re doing a better job of getting him the ball in space as a receiver.
So Kamara is entering the final year of his contract in 2025, which is a whopping $29 million against next year’s salary cap. But don’t let that distract you: The Saints have no intention of paying the $25 million non-guaranteed cap hit Kamara faces next season, so no, he’s not the second-highest-paid running back in the NFL. They’ll have the option to cut him and save the $25 million if they choose.
But if Kamara keeps up this pace and has a career year, he could very well have the Saints at his mercy. It would be really hard for Mickey Loomis to justify cutting the fan base’s focus on his offense (perhaps after his first 1,000-yard season as a running back), even though he’s 30 years old. Loomis and Khai Harley are as creative as they can be in getting around the salary cap, but we can’t rule out the possibility that they’re in a position where they’ll have to pay Kamara the maximum.
Hopefully the two sides can come to an agreement in the spring after Kamara had a strong season, leading the Saints back to the playoffs. He has made it clear that he wants to finish his career in New Orleans. Hopefully the Saints won’t regret not re-signing Kamara this summer when they had the opportunity.
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This article was originally published on Saints Wire: Saints may regret waiting for Alvin Kamara to sign contract extension
