Alvin Kamara's suspension has landed, and if the team had been bracing for the worst, the outcome appears to be favorable.
The star running back will be suspended the first three games of the season, which will cover the home opener against the Titans, then road matchups with the Panthers and Packers. He'll return for Week 4 at home against the Bucs.
The suspension, which is the same for Colts defensive back Chris Lammons, was stemmed from an assault incident in Vegas ahead of the 2021 Pro Bowl.
“I never wanted to be involved in something where someone gets hurt or severely injured or anything," Kamara said, opening up to the media for the first time since the incident after Friday's practice. "Poor judgement on my end. Definitely a bad decision. But I’m a man, everything I’ve ever done in my life I’ve stood on. And I can take accountability for it and I can say when I’m wrong and I was completely wrong, embarrassed the Saints, embarrassed my family, my mother, embarrassed myself, embarrassed the city and the shield, obviously, the NFL.”
Kamara flew up to New York on Wednesday to meet with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to tell his side of the story. He was contrite and said the meeting went well, though it's unknown if that had any impact on the outcome. There were expectations that a suspension could be as long as six games, making the three-game absence something the team can navigate with the recent additions of Jamaal Williams and third-round pick Kendre Miller.
"I don't expect the team to miss a beat," Kamara said. "They've got to keep going if I'm here or not, right? So I know these guys, that's kind of been the question mark. ... I don't think Pete [Carmichael], or Derek [Carr] or [head coach Dennis Allen] or anyone is sitting here like 'well, if Alvin gets suspended, we can't do this, or we can't do that.' They're gonna keep moving."
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Kamara admitted that the situation had weighed on him over the 18 or so months since the incident, even as he tried to keep it out of the media as much as possible so as not to be a distraction. The typically affable Kamara talked to the media sparingly, and was clearly thrilled to be able to return to his role as a face of the franchise and get back to himself.
Kamara said the incident didn't affect his preparation, but he had lost a lot in the process in terms of punishment and fallout. He played in 15 games in the 2022 season and rolled up impressive numbers of 897 rushing yards and 490 receiving yards, but only reached the end zone four times, easily a career low. In practice on Friday, Kamara said it felt like a weight had been lifted.
"From here I've just got to make the right decisions and make the right choices," Kamara said. "That's kind of what I've got to say about that. So now, let's talk about football, because I'm back."
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