Alvin Kamara is one of the best players in the recent memory of the New Orleans Saints.
But if you asked most people, they’d acknowledge that he’s definitely past his prime.
That’s not how the Saints were operating on Sunday, though.
Kamara was involved early and often.
He had five runs and five catches in the first 26 minutes of the game. In the same span, Etienne had two runs and no targets.
It certainly wasn’t the breakdown that was expected.
Why Is Alvin Kamara Playing More Than Travis Etienne?
This is definitely a weird feature of what the Saints are doing right now, and while there may have been signals of this, it’s still a bit shocking.
Kamara was injured and recovering from an MCL sprain, which is what kept him out of Week 1.
You’d think upon his return that he’d be used a little more sparingly.
To be fair, Saints coach Kellen Moore said during the week that Kamara would play a “key role” in this one.
Apparently he wasn’t selling it short.
There was one unofficial depth chart that came out in the preseason that listed Etienne and Kamara as co-RB1s, which signaled that maybe it wouldn’t be as obviously a backfield belonging to Etienne as most would’ve thought.
Travis Etienne Contract
Etienne’s contract sure made it seem like he’d be the man here.
He signed a four-year deal for $52 million to come to town from the Jacksonville Jaguars, which seemed to be the type of contract that committed a ton of touches to him.
By contrast, Kamara was a cut candidate. The Saints had to restructure his contract to consider keeping him at all.
Over the long run, it may still be Etienne’s backfield, especially in seasons beyond this one.
But in Sunday’s first half, Kamara reminded everyone that he’s still a trusted player for the Saints.
Why Alvin Kamara Is Playing More Than Travis Etienne For Saints