Saints RB plans to meet with commissioner after resolving criminal and civil cases
from Pro Football Rumors, with Rory Parks, and from www.yardbarker.com/YardBarker.com
Saints running back Alvin Kamara recently resolved his criminal and civil cases stemming from his involvement in the assault of a man in a Las Vegas nightclub in 2022. As PFR’s Sam Robinson observed when the resolution was reported, it is now much likelier that the league will hit Kamara with a suspension before the 2023 campaign gets underway.
Before that happens, however, Kamara plans to have an in-person meeting with league commissioner Roger Goodell to tell his side of the story, as Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com reports.
Per Duncan, the Saints encouraged Kamara to set up the meeting in an attempt to reduce the size of his suspension, which could be up to six games. It is unclear when the meeting will take place, but it seems that Kamara and Goodell will get together in the next couple of days.
Kamara has told reporters that he plans to meet with the media on Wednesday, saying, “I’ll talk to you all on Aug. 2 after I talk to [Goodell].”
The Las Vegas incident represents the first off-field transgression in Kamara’s seven-year career, as Duncan observes. Nonetheless, it is a serious one, and GM Mickey Loomis has said that the league has not provided any timeline for its decision.
Kamara’s legal matter encountered frequent delays, leaving him free to play throughout the 2022 season. The Saints were less prepared for a Kamara ban last year, but the team has made preparations this offseason.
New Orleans agreed to terms on a three-year, $12M deal with former Packer and Lion Jamaal Williams — last season’s rushing touchdowns leader — and used a third-round pick on TCU back Kendre Miller.
Nonetheless, Kamara should be expected to remain the Saints’ top back whenever he is eligible to play, and he will continue to be a focal point of the club’s offense. He is coming off something of a down year, having scored just four total TDs in 2022, but he still posted nearly 1,400 all-purpose yards on 280 touches.
While is technically under club control through 2025 on his $15M/year contract, it seems unlikely he will make it to that season without being released or having his contract restructured (his base salary balloons to over $22M in 2025.)
If Kamara should turn in a disappointing year in 2023, New Orleans could save some cap space by designating him a post-June 1 cut next year, though the team would also be saddled with a fair amount of dead money in that scenario.
The NFL has declined to comment on the Kamara-Goodell summit.