The New Orleans Saints are ensuring that star running back Alvin Kamara remains with the team, as he was awarded a new contract extension.
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Sources: The #Saints and RB Alvin Kamara agreed on a two-year, $24.5 million extension that puts him under contract through 2026.
The deal, confirmed by Kamara’s agent Brad Cicala of @QCSports, puts the 2017 third-round pick in position to retire a Saint. pic.twitter.com/0DMBTFX5r0
Per NFL insider Mike Garafolo, the Saints and Kamara agreed to a two-year, $24.5 million extension that keeps him signed through to the 2026 season.
Kamara has emerged as the most important offensive weapon for the Saints, especially in 2024. Through seven games, he has secured 486 rushing yards, six touchdowns, 252 receiving yards, and one touchdown.
The Saints are currently 2-5 in the NFC South and were presumed to be a team that might have been leaning toward giving up some players before the trade deadline. However, it appears the team wants to lock up talent, as they see a chance to turn things around.
To be fair, the Saints are currently missing three of their biggest stars on the offense. Quarterback Derek Carr is dealing with an oblique injury that will keep him sidelined for multiple weeks, and wide receiver Rashid Shaheed is also lost for the season after he underwent a full meniscus repair on his knee.
Fellow star wide receiver Chris Olave has also been dealing with a concussion that kept him out of Week 7. With a banged-up offense, the Saints decided to at least keep Kamara in-house for the next two seasons.
Garafolo added more context to the deal, stating that Kamara was in the final year of his current contract, and was set to become a free agent. However, his new deal will likely ensure that he retires with the Saints.
Kamara is 29 years old and has played his entire seven-and-a-half seasons with the Saints. Through seven full seasons and seven games of his eighth, he has secured a total of 6,267 rushing yards, 60 touchdowns, and a 4.4 yards per carry average.
Kamara has also brought in 4,471 receiving yards and 25 touchdowns with a yards-per-catch average of 8.3.
Another big tidbit of the Kamara deal is that it also frees up $18 million on the salary cap, per Tom Pelissero. This new move to free up cap space might be because the Saints are attempting to make a play at landing a big wide receiver to replace Shaheed.
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New York Jets' Mike Williams has been reported to be on the trade block, along with a shocker in Los Angeles Rams' Cooper Kupp. Should the Saints be able to land someone like Kupp, with Carr getting healthy soon — New Orleans could find a way to turn things around.
For more on the Saints, head to Newsweek Sports.
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