Alvin Kamara, one of the most valuable trade pieces of the 2022 season, remained with the Saints following a wild finish at the NFL trade deadline.
New Orleans decided to keep Kamara, 27, as a cornerstone offensive player in a season that has seen up-and-down play at the quarterback position. And the Saints' decision to keep him certainly wasn't for a lack of interest from other teams. As reported by Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football, the Saints simply weren't interested in trading him.
Another report from Dov Kleiman of NFL.com indicated Saints general manager Mickey Loomis would have demanded a similar trade package as the one that involved Christian McCaffrey. The Panthers sent him to the 49ers in return for a second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-round pick.
Kamara easily could have commanded a similar price, but the Saints' decision to keep him suggests they aren't looking for a straight rebuild like their NFC South counterparts. Despite being out of a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the team can still add valuable building blocks in each of the remaining rounds, excepting the sixth.
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It should also be noted the Saints had to look at what they stood to lose if they traded him, even beyond on-field production. With that, The Sporting News looks at why New Orleans decided to keep Kamara at the trade deadline:
Why didn't Saints trade Alvin Kamara?
Dead money hit on contract
Kamara is in the third year of a five-year contract extension, one that would result in significant dead cap hits should the Saints trade him: $20.5 million in 2022, $14.3 million in 2023 and $9.2 million in 2024.
It's possible the Saints move on from Kamara in the future, but that likely won't happen before 2024, the penultimate year on his contract. Kamara will be in his age-29 season and cost significantly less money in dead money.
Here is his yearly contract, per Spotrac:
| Year | Base | Signing | Cap Hit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $833,000 | $3,243,193 | $4,076,193 |
| 2021 | $2,000,000 | $3,000,000 | $5,000,000 |
| 2022 | $1,035,000 | $3,000,000 | $6,128,000 |
| 2023 | $9,400,000 | $3,000,000 | $16,093,000 |
| 2024 | $10,200,000 | $3,000,000 | $16,893,000 |
| 2025 | $22,400,000 | - | $27,093,000 |
| 2026 | - | - | $2,093,000 |
The Saints may have wanted to keep Kamara's on-field production, but the math shows the Saints would lose too much in dead cap hits with a trade.
MORE: Alvin Kamara contract details
Weak NFC South
The Saints are 3-5 through eight games, yet are still in the thick of the NFC South, which ranks as one of the weakest divisions in the NFL this year.
| Position | Team | Record (division) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Buccaneers | 4-5 (2-1) |
| 2. | Falcons | 4-5 (1-2) |
| 3. | Saints | 3-5 (1-2) |
| 4. | Panthers | 2-7 (2-1) |
The Saints also have a tiebreaker with Atlanta, meaning even if the teams have the same record, New Orleans would rank ahead of the Falcons in the divisional standings. New Orleans has a game remaining against each of its divisional opponents halfway through the season, giving the team ample opportunity to win the division and the automatic berth in the NFL playoffs.
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Alvin Kamara stats 2022
Kamara has only three touchdowns through eight games, but nonetheless is en route to another season with at least 1,000 yards from scrimmage. He has 700 such yards through eight games (413 rushing, 287 receiving). Extrapolating that over a full 17-game season, Kamara would have 1,488 yards from scrimmage in 2022.
It can't be understated how valuable a player with Kamara's skill set is. Running backs are required more and more to be a receiving threat, something Kamara provides in spades for the Saints. He has no fewer than 439 receiving yards in a season in his career, and is currently second on the team behind only rookie Chris Olave (547 yards).
Given Kamara's ability as a runner and pass-catcher — and the relative rarity of doing both of those things well — it makes sense the Saints would prioritize retaining him as opposed to trading him for draft capital. Even if New Orleans doesn't make the playoffs in 2022, he stands to be a big part of future runs in the foreseeable future.
