Entering contract season with the New Orleans Saints, the writing on the wall is clear for Alvin Kamara. The franchise cornerstone had to carry a subpar run game in 2025, denting his personal stat line. To make matters worse, the Saints signed Kamara’s potential replacement, Travis Etienne Jr., just three days after restructuring his contract. It immediately made many wonder if his days in the Big Easy were numbered.

But there could be a different plan that head coach Kellen Moore is thinking of. Yet, Kamara’s latest tweet amid his absence from the OTAs isn’t helping.

“Haven’t had time for anybody outside of my circle lately. Building…” Kamara wrote on X.

Kamara skipped all but one (June 3rd) of the Saints’ optional OTAs. He has often opted out of optional workouts in the past, but with how the offense played out last year, these sessions could be crucial. Not to mention, it could really build the chemistry Moore may be looking for.

You see, signing Etienne to a $48 million, four-year deal might look like a challenge for Kamara on the surface, but for the head coach, it could be the key to one of the most intriguing, versatile backfields in the NFL.

After their offense ranked 27th in the league last season, he may now use Pony Personnel, featuring both Etienne and Kamara on the field at the same time. It would confuse the defenders as Moore can switch between the two with different plays, helping build one of the more threatening backfields.

Certainly, Kamara could use a boost. The soon-to-be 31-year-old played 11 games last year and finished with just 471 yards and a single touchdown to show for it all before tearing his MCL. But any questions about his being washed are hastened. Once the offensive strategy improves, even a veteran like him could look like his former self despite injury concerns.

Moreover, Kamara’s tweet on building could simply be him trying to recover from his MCL injury. However, it could also hint at the growing tension between the running back and the franchise.

Kamara hasn’t been able to complete the last two seasons due to injuries, which could hint that the team is looking to invest in a younger talent. The blueprint of the same might just have been created in the Saints’ payroll books.

The Saints needed cap space this offseason, so they restructured his two-year, $24.5 million deal from 2024. They converted his $10.15 million 2026 salary into a signing bonus, spreading the cap over five years, lowering Kamara’s cap hit to $10.45M from a team-high $18.63M, and freeing up $8.12M in cap space. The restructure didn’t add any more guaranteed money for him, but brought the Saints another upside.

The restructuring made it easier for New Orleans to move Kamara.

A post-June 1 trade frees up an additional $3.37M in cap space for the Saints, while they absorb $7M of dead cap. If they have to cut him instead, they absorb a $10M dead cap and free up just $37.6K. The Saints have the perfect backup to take his place, too.

Travis Etienne is coming off a stellar 2025 campaign with the Jacksonville Jaguars that saw him run 1,107 yards for seven touchdowns. In five years with the Jags – even though he missed his first season with a foot injury – Etienne has started 60 of 66 games played. Kamara has more experience (nine seasons) and more starts (95 starts in 126 played), but he was struggling last season until an MCL sprain ended his 2025 campaign.

The Saints brought Etienne in to see if a younger back could push the same run game further.

Kamara has already gone through something similar. Before he got his two-year extension in 2024, a lot of uncertainty flew around whether Kamara would suit up for the season. At the time, he had made it clear he would suit up regardless of his contract status. This offseason, despite all the narratives, Kamara’s agent, Brad Cicala, has also noted that they “plan on playing for the Saints in 2026.” But this time, the team in particular doesn’t seem locked in on him.

What’s going on inside New Orleans for Kamara

Back in May, head coach Kellen Moore said that the team was “getting close” to sorting out Kamara’s future, but he didn’t quite sound committed. During the OTAs, the coach was asked whether Kamara would be on the roster when the season opens, but his tone was as cryptic as Kamara’s tweet.

“I think that’s how you always prepare,” Moore said.

Travis Etienne Jr., on the other hand, was overjoyed when Alvin Kamara showed up for that one OTA and revealed that Kamara inspires him.

“I feel like I try to mirror my game after him in some ways like that,” Eitenne said. “So, just him to be here, I feel like that was big for me. Just get to hear him talk, just to kind of pick his brain, see what it is you do. And I feel like we have a veteran guy like that who’s weathered the storms.”

The feeling seems to be mutual, too. Back in May, Kamara was excited to start his tenth NFL season and to play with Etienne. He even went out of his way to make it clear there was no bad blood between them.

“[He’s] explosive, he hits home runs, and he did it in college,” Kamara declared on The Set back then. “Strong dude, seems smart. I’m excited to see what we could do together.

“I ain’t into social media, and I don’t do too much watching and stuff. But I think a lot of people be thinking it’s like beef or something when moves like this happen, and it’s like, ‘Man, I couldn’t be happier.’ One, my boy got paid and, two, like it ain’t nothing but some help in the backfield. That’s the name of the game, shoot! Depth – one person can’t do it by themselves, so, I’m cool with it, man.”

But now that excitement seems to be gone. The Saints are the only ones who hold his building blocks right now. With Etienne Jr, New Orleans has a back that it can lean on as a proven starter. And if Kamara is no longer a part of the Saints’ plans, a trade seems like the cleanest break for all sides.

ESPN’s Dan Graziano linked Kamara to the Cincinnati Bengals and the Green Bay Packers, both franchises that could benefit greatly from a veteran back.

“If he lands in the right kind of backfield and the right kind of role, he could have a chance to go out with a bang,” Graziano said. “Maybe a place such as Cincinnati or Green Bay has a way to use him to help the offense.”

The Buffalo Bills are also a possible destination because of a coaching connection. Former Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael is Buffalo’s current OC. Bills QB Josh Allen is reeling from a foot injury he suffered last season, and Buffalo might want to limit his ground game this season to protect him. Adding a veteran like Kamara alongside James Cook III would be a dream scenario for Buffalo’s run game if Allen can’t carve up the field with his feet.

The Dallas Cowboys, the Denver Broncos, and the Baltimore Ravens have also been floated as potential destinations for Alvin Kamara by various analysts. The Saints haven’t closed the door either, but Kamara isn’t fighting to stay either. Last October, ahead of the trade deadline, Kamara made it clear he’d retire if the Saints proposed a trade.

“I don’t want to go anywhere, and I’ve said it countless times,” he’d said at the time. “If [general manager] Mickey [Loomis] comes down and says that, I’m going to drink a piña colada somewhere.”

But right now, the team isn’t moving him, and Kamara isn’t pushing either. The tension is in the silence, and it has a chance to break on June 16th if Kamara shows up for the mandatory minicamps.