Latest Alvin Kamra trade update seems to set the record straight on potential deal

An Alvin Kamara trade could actually happen, with the New Orleans Saints reportedly setting an asking price for the Pro Bowl running back.

With the NFL Trade Deadline mere days away, the rumor waves are building.

Star players are rarely traded in the NFL, but the winds blowing the rumor mill have changed that in recent years. Last year future Hall of Famer Von Miller was dealt at the deadline to the Los Angeles Rams and the move helped result in a Super Bowl win.

This year there has already seen a superstar running back traded out of the NFC South and there’s a growing chance another trade could be on the horizon. New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara has been increasingly mentioned in trade rumors ahead of Tuesday’s deadline and it appears we’ve moved closer to a potential deal happening.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Mike Garafolo, and Tom Pelissero, the Saints would entertain a trade for Kamara if the returning package was comparable to what the Carolina Panthers received for Christian McCaffrey.

Per NFL Network:

"Sources say general manager Mickey Loomis would want at least a comparable package to what the Panthers got for McCaffrey (second-, third- and fourth-round picks in 2023 plus a fifth-rounder in 2024) to part with Kamara, who is owed just $575,000 for the rest of this season, thanks to a contract restructure in March, and is signed through the 2025 season."

Once you get past the shock value of the Saints trading Kamara, this asking price isn’t terribly surprising. It seems that the Panthers and 49ers set the market when the McCaffrey trade went down earlier in October, as it’s been cited in numerous other trade rumblings.

For instance, the Cleveland Browns were originally rumored to be asking for a McCaffrey-adjacent package in a Kareem Hunt deal, but have since lowered that price.

Alvin Kamra rumors: Will Saints actually trade star running back?

This latest Kamara update could also be seen price slash, but it’s not the only update on the Kamara trade front.

Before the NFL Network report, the asking price for Kamara was rumored to involve a first-round pick rather than a package of second and third day picks. That first-round pick rumor seemed to be specifically tied to the Philadelphia Eagles, who have been connected to Kamara and own the Saints original 2023 first-round pick by way of a draft day trade last year.

That trade helped the Saints draft offensive lineman Trevor Penning, which would essentially make that trade Penning-for-Kamara if New Orleans could get its first-round pick back from Philly.

Nick Underhill is pushing back against the idea of a Kamara trade. Despite the rumored package from NFL Network, the Saints beat writer is calming nerves on the bayou by reporting that Kamara simply isn’t being shopped.

This doesn’t mean a trade still can’t happen, or that it’s a smoke-and-mirrors attempt to jack up his price. But it’s also worth noting that star players are rarely traded in the NFL and the Saints moving on from Kamara is the type of move a team that is rebuilding attempts to do, not a team that still seems talented enough to figure it out before its too late.