Saints' Alvin Kamara Exits Mini-Camp In Contract Protest After A Very Mini-Season | Glenn Guilbeau

PublishedJune 14, 2024 8:21 AM EDT|UpdatedJuly 24, 2024 3:14 PM EDT

METAIRIE, Louisiana - If you're going to play hard to get, you better first make sure you're pretty hot. Especially in the NFL.

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara is no longer so hot. He's much like the franchise for which he plays. Used to be hot, but gradually going down each year since 2021 to just a simmer the last three seasons and likely more of that decreasing heat in 2024.

On Thursday, though, Kamara made a big play - something he hasn't done much since 2020. Or some say even before that.

Kamara dressed out for practice on the last day of the Saints mini-camp workouts here and went through the walk-through. Then he reversed his field and left the facility in regular clothes. This was a protest aimed at the stalled contract negotiations between his representation and the Saints. The move took Saints coach Dennis Allen by surprise, but then many things do. He's 16-18 since his promotion from defensive coordinator to replace the "retiring" Sean Payton after the 2021 season. He was 8-28 as the Oakland Raiders' coach from 2012-14.

The five-time Pro Bowl selection from 2017-21 has two years remaining on a five-year, $75 million contract that will pay him about $11 million this year and is scheduled to pay him $24 million in 2025. But he's never going to see that last item because his play is descending, and everyone knows it - himself, his agent, Saints fans like BarryB, and the Saints brass.

Since 2017, Saints running back Alvin Kamara has been one of the most versatile backs in the NFL. But his numbers have decreased in recent years. (Getty Images)

Kamara wants a new deal with an extension negotiated before the 2024 season, so he can cash out if he needs. Kamara will be 29 on July 25 while the Saints are in training camp. That's 63 in running back years, particularly with an offense like the Saints were with quarterback Derek Carr last year. He finished 16th in Quarterback Rating. The Saints are in no hurry to re-contract Kamara and are waiting to see how he does in a critical year for Kamara, Allen and a franchise that hasn't seen double-digit wins since 2020.

He signed that deal in 2020 just before the regular season began. He was as hot as New Orleans concrete in July then. He rushed for 797 yards and caught 81 passes for 533 yards in 2019 as the Saints finished 13-3 for their third straight NFC South title under Payton.

ANALYSIS: Alvin Kamara Nearly Made A Super Bowl

The year before in 2018, Kamara rushed for 883 yards and 14 touchdowns while catching 81 passes for 709 yards as the Saints won the South at 13-3 and would have reached the Super Bowl without the worst no-call in NFL postseason history as an obvious pass interference was not called. Had it been called, there was a 99 percent chance the Saints and Drew Brees would have scored a touchdown and beat the Los Angeles Rams, who instead won in overtime.

In 2017, Kamara won Rookie of the Year as he rushed for 728 yards and caught 81 passes for 826 yards as he was a main reason New Orleans reversed three straight 7-9 seasons and finished 11-5 and won the NFC South. Only a Hail Mary by Minnesota kept the Saints out of the NFC Championship game.

In 2020, Kamara had his best season ever with 932 yards rushing at 5.0 yards a pop with 16 touchdowns and 83 receptions for 756 yards with a 9.1-yard average and five touchdowns. He rushed for six touchdowns in a 52-33 win over Minnesota on Christmas Day to tie an NFL record set in 1929 by Ernie Nevers. The Saints went 12-4 and won their fourth straight South title and advanced in the playoffs before losing to eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay and Tom Brady.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr (No. 4) and running back Alvin Kamara celebrate a touchdown pass against the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 29, 2023, at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Saints won to get to 4-4. (Getty Images)

The Saints have never been the same since without Brees, and neither has Kamara. A battered Brees retired after the ‘20 season, and the Saints truly have not found a quarterback since. Also no longer himself was wide receiver Michael Thomas, who was the NFL’s best from 2016-19, then nothing because of various injuries.

Alvin Kamara Wasn't The Same Without Drew Brees

The Saints fell to 9-8 in 2021 without Brees and Thomas as Kamara finished with a career low 3.7 yards a rush and with his lowest receiving numbers at 47 catches for 439 yards. And Payton gladly found out what it means to miss New Orleans as he took a year off from coaching as a FOX analyst before landing the Denver Broncos job.

New Orleans dropped to 7-10 in 2022 for their first losing season since 2016 - the year before Kamara. He scored a career-low four touchdowns, but was solid with 897 rushing yards and 490 receiving yards. Unfortunately, he was often all the offense had.

In 2023, Kamara rushed for a career-low 694 yards and his second worst receiving total at 466, but he was suspended for three games for incredibly stupid behavior in a nightclub while at the Pro Bowl.

Kamara's signature "Wow" plays diminished in 2023 to a high of 17 yards on the ground and 25 in the air - fragments of what they used to be - as the Saints finished 9-8 and out of the playoffs for the third straight year. New Orleans hasn't gone that long without reaching postseason since 2014-16.

Clinging to Kamara as if he is still what he was would be yet another Saints' snafu. But there are no other viable options for the Saints at running back.

It might be time for a trade as the Saints need to go younger. And Kamara would likely welcome it. Brees, Thomas, Payton, the 13-3 seasons and NFC South titles - all his friends are gone. Is he really going to believe during a fourth straight summer that it can be turned around?

As he exited the Saints facility and turned on the highway home, he probably wasn't thinking about another version of Highway 61 Revisited. Not this portion anyway.