3 Saints players who won’t be back for 2023 season
By Josh Wilson
Saints who won’t be back next year: Alvin Kamara
This one — and the next on this list — is tough because Alvin Kamara is a fan favorite and has been nothing but great to the Saints organization and fanbase. Even when it looked as though Kamara was subtly forcing his way out of New Orleans, he stood firm and indicated all he wanted was some accountability in the locker room; He had no interest in leaving.
We’ll never know if that was genuine for sure, but the trade deadline came and went without Kamara finding a new home. It seems as though his claims that he wanted to stay in New Orleans were real.
That said, this season has not featured Kamara as the lead back one would expect. The Saints have misused him entirely compared to how Sean Payton kept him fed. Short, easy screen passes over the middle to Kamara are few and far between these days.
After getting 22 touches per game last year, he’s averaging 18 this year. Kamara has one rushing touchdown and two receiving touchdowns this entire season. It is clear that having a defensive-minded coach in Dennis Allen running the ship has hurt the game of some guys, and Kamara is at the top of this list.
His love for New Orleans seems genuine, so he may not request a trade. But whether it’s that or the Saints capitalizing to secure a draft pick, it seems as though Kamara’s time in New Orleans is probably limited.
The issue with trading Kamara is his impending lawsuit. Teams may not be willing to make a trade for him when they know he could come with a suspension. Another perspective could suggest that if the Browns were willing to trade for Deshaun Watson, teams will trade for anyone if the talent is there regardless of possible suspensions.