A ho-hum New Orleans Saints minicamp news cycle was cranked into overdrive on Thursday with Alvin Kamara departing early as he angles for a new contract.
And Kamara, in the penultimate year of a 5-year deal signed prior to the 2020 season, has a pretty strong case to make to get paid. That's a subject the Cajun Cannon Bobby Hebert dove into today on SportsTalk.
"With Coach Kubiak and all hands on deck, man, they’re counting on Alvin Kamara," Hebert said, "and I think Alvin Kamara and his agent, they know that."
Listen to Bobby Hebert's full breakdown from the final day of minicamp in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
Kamara will want security, considering the final year of his deal is built to tear with the Saints unlikely to accept the ballooning cap hit of $25 million in the final year of that deal. The bigger question might be just how much ground the Saints are willing to surrender in any negotiations, which have not gotten very far ahead of the public maneuver.
There are two very different contracts for similarly vested players this offseason to consider, one being Christian McCaffrey's 2 year, $38 million extension ($24 million guaranteed) with the 49ers. The other is Derrick Henry's 2 year, $16 million contract ($9 million guaranteed) from the Ravens in free agency.
McCaffrey is 28. Henry is 30. Kamara will be 29 by the start of next season.
"If you look at McCaffrey, you know why he got rewarded?" Hebert continued, "OK, again, what have you done for me lately. He put up right at 120 yards from scrimmage in the 27 games in a 49ers uniform”
That number for Kamara last season was 89, and efficiency has been waning each of the past few years. There are caveats, including a Pete Carmichael-led offense that did him no favors. It's easy to look at the new scheme under Kubiak and appreciate that there could be a similar uptick in performance, not unlike McCaffrey who led the NFL in rushing yards and touchdowns this past season. But would the Saints pay that premium without seeing the product first? Unlikely.
Can they afford to wait if it means a disgruntled star RB? That remains to be seen, but the depth in the RB room isn't particularly inspiring at this point with Jamaal Williams and Kendre Miller coming off injury plagued and production starved seasons.
"That’ll be interesting to see what’s going to transpire now because it’s kind of ... out of sight, out of mind until training camp when they go to California, what’s going to come about," Hebert said. "I would say right now Alvin Kamara is not going to be showing up on time to training camp.”
