The Alvin Kamara contract situation in New Orleans appears to have escalated quickly, but according to multiple reports, the running back and the Saints are still expected to agree on an extension that keeps him with the team.
On the heels of the 25-year-old missing multiple practices over the past week, ESPN's Josina Anderson on Tuesday reported that the Saints were "open to trading" Kamara. According to Pro Football Talk, New Orleans indeed gauged other teams' interest in a deal, but not necessarily because it wanted to move him.
"It seems that this was part of an effort not to actually trade Kamara," PFT reported, "but to demonstrate that there’s no other team that currently would give the Saints what they’d want for Kamara (presumably a lot) and also pay him what he wants (presumably a lot more than what the Saints are offering)."
MORE: Did Kamara issue a warning weeks ago?
Kamara is scheduled to earn just $2.133 million in 2020, the fourth and final year of his rookie contract after New Orleans selected him in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft. In terms of cash, that 2020 salary places him in a tie for 30th among NFL running backs. Fellow top NFL running backs Christian McCaffrey, Ezekiel Elliott and Derrick Henry, for example, each will earn north of $15 million in 2020 on recently extended contracts.
According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, Kamara and the Saints "are not far apart in negotiations" and that he "has not asked for McCaffrey money."
Saints and Alvin Kamara are not far apart in negotiations, per source, as Kamara has not asked for Christian McCaffrey money. Saints were open to trading Kamara for a 1 in light of absence but things calmed down, sides continue talking.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) September 2, 2020
Four teams inquired about Kamara today.
Kamara's recent absences from Saints practices have come as a surprise given his previously lax attitude toward his contract situation.
"It'll happen when it happens," Kamara said when New Orleans' training camp opened last month. "It's never been something ... like I didn't come in (to the NFL) thinking about like, 'Ooh, I can't wait 'til I get a contract.' It's like, 'I'm playing, and when that comes, it's gonna be well deserved and it's gonna be perfect timing for it.'
"It's just not something that's at the forefront of my day. It's not something I wake up thinking about."
There is a disconnect over whether Kamara's absences were excused, which is an important distinction.
The new collective bargaining agreement the NFL and the NFL Players Association agreed upon in the spring states that a player would lose an accrued season if he "failed to perform his contract services for the club for a material period of time." The Saints also can fine Kamara up to $40,000 for each day he misses.
Should Kamara hold out for an extended period and lose an accrued season in 2020, he would become a restricted free agent in 2021 rather than an unrestricted free agent.
"(Kamara) thought they were negotiating toward an extension," NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported. "He did show up to the facility, went through coronavirus testing, had some treatment on his back and then did not show up for practice.
"You talk to the other side, some Saints people, and their belief is that the absences from practice were unexcused, and Kamara is expected to be fined $200,000. ... If the wanted, they could work that into a potential new deal and handle it that way."
Kamara, who has averaged 6.1 yards per touch through his three-year career, missed two games last season while dealing with knee and ankle injuries.