NOF reporters list Alvin Kamara as the Saints’ RB2

Kamara, 31, exited the Saints’ Tuesday scrimmage with a knee injury. The one-month recovery timeline — at best — means Kamara will likely miss the team’s regular season opener, and perhaps their Week 2 game. Travis Etienne, meanwhile, should function as something close to a workhorse while Kamara is sidelined. Etienne’s PPR upside gets a boost if Kamara is sidelined for the first couple regular season contests.

The Saints are obviously going to take every necessary precaution, but it’s still a situation to monitor. The 31-year-old tailback is likely to have a reduced role after the club brought in Travis Etienne in free agency, but because of his ability as a pass-catcher, still has a chance to be a productive fantasy player. There should be further updates on Kamara’s knee soon.

Travis Etienne is getting “the bulk” of the first-team reps on early downs, and Duncan notes “he’ll be surprised if it’s a Kamara-Mark Ingram-like 50-50 split when all is said and done.” It feels like Kamara is settling in for a lower situational role, but perhaps not situational enough for the comfort of Etienne-reliant fantasy managers, as the Saints’ new signing carries an ADP in the late 30s or early 40s on most sites.

Kamara can earn up to another $2.5 million via incentives. He was initially set to make up to $11.5 million before his deal was restructured on Wednesday. The Saints were pushing for him to take a pay cut this offseason, but it initially looked like Kamara wasn’t going to budge. Instead, he gives some money back and gets to stay in New Orleans, where he has been adamant about wanting to finish his career. Kamara will serve as Travis Etienne’s backup, likely seeing most of his work on passing downs. He could have some FLEX value in PPR leagues, but Etienne should see most of the carries and still some targets.

It’s almost certainly a pay cut for Kamara, but the Saints could also be throwing him a bone with incentives or extra years on his deal. The Saints spent much of the offseason trying to get Kamara to agree to a new deal but had little leverage to make it happen. Kamara has talked about wanting to finish his career in New Orleans, so he may have decided to concede financially in order to stay put. He will likely pitch in on passing downs to take some work of Travis Etienne’s plate. Etienne, however, still figures to see the bulk of the carries and some designed targets.

What does this mean for fantasy purposes? In short, it means he thinks the Saints are going to feature Etienne as an offensive focal point. Underhill believes the Saints are entering a “post-Alvin Kamara world,” although he acknowledges that Kamara may stick around for one more season. That said, Underhill thinks Etienne will operate as a “full-volume starter” and describes him as a “three-down player.” If Kamara does play for the Saints this season, Underhill does not think Kamara’s presence “changes the outcome significantly” for Etienne’s touch count. Toward the end of the segment, Underhill projects Etienne for 235 carries, 1,050 rushing yards, eight rushing touchdowns, 42 catches, 330 receiving yards and 3-4 receiving touchdowns. Splitting the difference on the receiving touchdowns brings the total to 231.5 PPR points, which would have made him the RB15 last season. Treating him as a high-end RB2 with RB1 upside makes sense.

Moore didn’t outright confirm that Kamara would be with the team this year. When asked whether Kamara would be on the team, Moore only said, “I think that’s how you always prepare.” Kamara and the Saints are in a bit of a standoff, with the Saints seemingly wanting him to take a pay cut while having no leverage to force the issue. The veteran runner made a surprise appearance at OTAs last week to make his presence known, though he was only with the team for a single day. Moore said he expects Kamara to be present at minicamp next week. For now, it looks like Kamara will be a Saint this year. He will likely play a change-of-pace role behind Travis Etienne.

Underhill outlined his thoughts on the run game in a lengthy piece, exploring how run game coordinator T.J. Paganetti plans to build the run game around his players’ strengths. With RB Travis Etienne set to operate as the lead back, the team can use Kamara selectively in space, running routes, on screens and by exploiting matchups. It remains to be seen whether Kamara, 30, will remain in New Orleans, but it sounds like he could end up with a PPR-friendly FLEX role if he does.

Underhill believes RB Travis Etienne’s skillset “is exactly what the Saints need if inside zone and outside zone are going to remain the base.” That said, the Saints are also excited about Etienne’s versatility. Paganetti praised his intelligence, pass protection, route running ability and added that Etienne is more than just a one-cut runner. If RB Alvin Kamara, 30, remains with the team, Underhill believes Etienne’s presence allows the team to use Kamara selectively, rather than relying on him all game long. Underhill adds that the Saints’ play-action passing game was very efficient in 13 personnel, albeit via a small sample size. The front office added multiple tight ends this offseason and the coaching staff wants the running game “to feed the passing game,” which could mean more runs out of three-tight end sets. Etienne is looking like an RB2 with RB1 upside in an ascending offense.

Kamara showed up for practice while his 2026 contract situation is very much in flux. Several reports over the past couple weeks have suggested Kamara, entering his age-31 season, won’t return to the Saints for the 2026 season after the team signed Travis Etienne during free agency. Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said in mid-May that he’s “trying to see” how Kamara might fit on the team’s roster. Kamara carries a $10.4 million cap hit coming into the 2026 season if the Saints keep him on the team in the coming weeks. Kamara, who had 471 rushing yards over 11 games last season, ranked 32nd out of 75 qualifying running backs in missed tackles forced per carry. He ranked 70th in yards after contact per carry.