The New Orleans Saints will be without one of their top players when the 2026 NFL season officially kicks off. According to NFL insider Adam Schefter of ESPN, Saints star running back Alvin Kamara is expected to be sidelined for at least the next month due to a sprained MCL. It's certainly a brutal blow to the Saints offense as Kamara has served as its lead back for the past several years.
He also restructured his contract this offseason in order to stay with the team. Luckily, the Saints heavily invested into the position this offseason, signing former Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. to a four-year, $52 million contract in free agency. That will give the Saints all the extra time they need to ensure Kamara is fully healthy when he finally returns to the field, and then together, Etienne and Kamara could form one of the best running back duos in the league.
Kamara began his professional career as a third-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Since then, he has been arguably New Orleans' top offensive weapon, rushing for 7,250 yards and 61 touchdowns while also reeling in 606 catches for 4,948 yards and 25 more scores. The 31-year-old did take a bit of a step back last season with a career-low 471 rushing yards and one touchdown, but that came in 11 games before he suffered a MCL sprain suffered in Week 12.
A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Kamara played college football at Alabama (2013), Hutchinson CC (2014) and Tennessee, where he rushed for 1,294 yards and 16 touchdowns from 2015-16.
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