JUST IN: Five-time Pro Bowl running back Alvin Kamara committed to Saints despite multi million dollar trade offers from from other teams
The New Orleans Saints, off to a 1-4 start on the season ahead of Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots, have been the subject of trade calls with the Nov. 4 deadline less than a month away.
Several veterans have been the focus of teams, including five-time Pro Bowl running back Alvin Kamara.
While New Orleans will continue to get calls — and time will tell how receptive they are to trading starters — Kamara isn’t expected to go anywhere.
Sources say Kamara told Saints general manager Mickey Loomis that he’d like to remain with the franchise through the rest of his career, which was the goal when he signed a two-year, $24.5 million extension last October. Kamara is signed through 2026 and will have a decision to make prior to next season about if he wants to continue playing.
Loomis approached Kamara in a proactive way when the team was getting calls about his potential availability. Loomis wanted to treat one of the faces of the franchise the right way. Loomis informed the homegrown player of interest elsewhere and wanted to be transparent. The question was simply: Would you want to go?
Kamara expressed his preference to stay in New Orleans, the team that selected him in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
Kamara, 30, is averaging nearly 4 yards per carry this season and doesn’t look like he’s fading, which explains the trade interest from other teams.
With several teams currently in need of some juice at the RB position, it makes sense that he would be one of the top-targeted players.
Kamara, however, has never wavered on his loyalty to Saints amid their rebuild. This was another example of that.
During a trying season last year, Loomis traded veteran cornerback Marshon Lattimore to the Commanders in a package of picks centered around a 2025 third-rounder. The trade return was too great to ignore.
While Loomis and the Saints are not expected to conduct a fire sale — believing it sends the wrong message through adversity and also because they are still trying to win games this season — there could be a similar situation this year in which the value is too great to turn down potential deals.
Sources say several Saints players are expected to be or have been the subject of trade calls. Among them: wide receiver Rashid Shaheed, pass rusher Carl Granderson, offensive lineman Dillon Radunz and linebacker Pete Werner.
Time will tell on how receptive Loomis will be, but it won’t be for lack of opportunities.
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