Same knee, worst possible timing
Alvin Kamara walked off the joint practice field with Dallas on Tuesday holding his knee. Several American outlets carried it within the hour. The Saints have said nothing official yet.
NewOrleans.football reports the running back dodged anything structural, though he is still looking at several weeks on the sideline. Two weeks and change until the opener. That math does not work in favor of a 31-year-old whose body has been sending signals for a while now.
And it is the knee again. The same joint that, along with his ankle, wrecked most of last season for him.
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Nine seasons, two records nobody in New Orleans has touched
Kamara is not a depth piece here. Third-round pick in 2017, one jersey his whole career, and he sits atop the two offensive records that matter most in club history: 7,250 rushing yards and 61 rushing touchdowns. No Saints back has come closer.
Five straight Pro Bowls to open his career, too. The last of those came in 2021, and the graph has pointed down ever since. Last year was the worst stretch he has had: 11 games, 471 rushing yards, one score. Career lows on both counts, courtesy of that knee and that ankle.
He was already the backup before this
Kamara restructured his contract this summer to stay in Louisiana, which told you plenty about where the front office had him slotted.
Then New Orleans went out and signed Travis Etienne Jr. in free agency, four years, 52 million dollars. The former Jaguars back walked in as the presumed starter. Kamara was penciled in behind him when camp opened.
So the offense does not fall apart. What Kamara loses is the last stretch of practice reps he had to argue his case, while the guy ahead of him keeps taking them.
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