Alvin Kamara’s knee injury has pushed the Saints into the version of their backfield they spent the offseason building.
Kamara was hurt Tuesday during a heated joint practice with the Dallas Cowboys in Oxnard, California. Reports on Aug. 19 say the injury is not considered serious, but the veteran running back is expected to miss several weeks, and no exact return date has been announced.
That is a relief compared with the worst-case scenario Saints fans were bracing for when Kamara walked off the field. It also hands New Orleans an early chance to see whether its new setup can work the way it was intended.
The simplest answer is that Kamara does not need August work. He already owns the Saints’ franchise records with 7,250 rushing yards and 61 rushing touchdowns. He made the Pro Bowl in each of his first five NFL seasons and has spent his entire career in New Orleans since the Saints took him in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
If his knee needs time, then it needs time. There is no reason to rush him back for exhibition carries when the Saints will need him far more in October and November than in August.
That is where Travis Etienne Jr. enters the picture. New Orleans signed the former Jacksonville running back to a four-year, $52 million contract in free agency, a move that already pointed toward a different kind of backfield. Kamara was no longer going to be asked to shoulder the same workload he carried earlier in his career, and now the Saints may get a longer look at that arrangement sooner than expected.
That is not a bad thing.
Last season, Kamara played only 11 games, a career low, while dealing with knee and ankle injuries. He finished with career lows of 471 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. Those numbers do not change what he can still bring, but they do explain why New Orleans needed another real option.
The goal is not to replace Kamara. It is to protect him.
Even now, he can still stress defenses as a receiver, create pop in space and give quarterback Tyler Shough a dependable outlet when a play breaks down. What the Saints should not need anymore is 20 touches from him every week.
Etienne gives coach Kellen Moore room to spread the load, let Etienne take some of the early-down punishment and use Kamara in spots that highlight what he still does best. That is not pushing a franchise icon aside.
It is trying to keep him available when it matters.
Tuesday’s practice was about more than Kamara, though. The Saints and Cowboys spent part of the day turning a joint workout into a series of altercations, and it threatened to become more memorable for the extracurricular stuff than for the football. Moore’s post-practice message was straightforward: emotion has a place, but execution is what counts.
He is right. The Saints did not travel to California to win fights. They went there to sharpen a team that finished 6-11 last season, and the real goal is to improve that record while keeping the edge that helps win games.
There was still football work tucked under the chaos, including more chances for Shough and the offense against a defense they do not see every day. But Kamara’s injury is another reminder that New Orleans has already taken several hits in camp.
First-round receiver Jordyn Tyson is expected to miss up to two months with a hamstring injury. Offensive lineman Dillon Radunz is out for the season with a torn ACL. The Saints do not need another important name on that list.
Kamara’s knee issue could have been much worse. Still, New Orleans finally has enough talent in the backfield that it should not have to squeeze every last carry out of No. 41.
Let Etienne handle his share. Let the younger backs get their turns.
The Saints are not trying to figure out whether Alvin Kamara can play football. Nine NFL seasons already answered that.
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