Alvin Kamara’s 2026 season is gonna start late, folks, because the dude just landed another MCL sprain, per ESPN. This isn’t just a bump in the road; it’s the exact same leg injury that wiped out the end of his 2025 campaign, and now he’s reportedly out for at least a month. Talk about déjà vu, and not the good kind, as this news drops right at the crucial preseason stage.
Running Back Room Shaken Up Before It Starts
Let’s be real, Kamara wasn’t the top dog in the backfield anymore. The Saints went out and snagged Travis Etienne Jr. this offseason, signing him to a four-year deal after he lit it up for the Jaguars in 2025, rushing for a massive 1,107 yards and notching 13 combined touchdowns. That move signaled a changing of the guard, but fans fully expected Kamara to be a major factor, picking up considerable carries as the second option on the depth chart. After all, even a secondary Kamara could be huge, right?
But this second MCL sprain throws a huge wrench in those plans. That 2025 season? It was a tough watch for the 31-year-old veteran. He suffered his first MCL sprain in Week 12 against the Falcons during a brutal 24-10 loss, and that was it for his year. He ended that campaign with career lows across the board: a mere 471 yards on 131 attempts, only one rushing touchdown, and a dismal 3.6 yards per carry. His receiving numbers weren’t much better, with just 186 yards and a career-worst 16.9 yards per game, a stark drop from his previous low of 32.7 and the almost 39 yards per game he put up the season before. That entire performance is what pushed the Saints to bring Etienne into the mix in the first place, and now, here we are again with the same exact injury for Kamara.
Money Moves and Unclear Futures
The financial side of things adds another layer of drama to this whole situation. Kamara’s contract got reworked in the spring, a clear reflection of his expected new workload for 2026 and to help the Saints with their salary cap challenges. ESPN even pointed out that before his deal was scaled down, New Orleans had the priciest running back room in the entire NFL for 2026! Now, he’s set to earn $6 million, with the possibility of earning up to an additional $2.5 million in incentives. That’s a significant drop from the $11.5 million he was originally slated to make. The big question, the $6 million question really, is whether he can even hit those incentive goals. It was already looking unclear if he could reach that target before this latest MCL sprain; without a set timeline for his return, those chances look even more opaque.
Adding to the backfield drama, two other running backs, Devin Neal and Kendre Miller, have only just returned to practice themselves after dealing with injuries. Neal, 23, made three starts and appeared in 10 games as a rookie in 2025, showing flashes with a pair of rushing touchdowns and 11 first downs, averaging 3.6 yards per attempt. Miller, on the other hand, didn’t start a game but played in seven, averaging a respectable 4.1 yards per attempt on 47 rushes, grabbing a touchdown and nine first downs. With Kamara sidelined, the pressure is on these two.
What’s next? Neal and Miller are gonna be called upon way more heavily than expected in Saturday’s preseason matchup against the Los Angeles Rams. All eyes will be on how they handle the increased load. This is a massive curveball for the Saints as they try to get their 2026 campaign rolling.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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