Speculation about the New Orleans Saints being sellers, not buyers, at the NFL trade deadline hasn’t quieted down after their first win of the season. This is still a 1-4 team, and with weeks to go until the deadline, they’re going to continue to draw interest from around the league until their record gives teams a reason to stop calling.
One player who might be on the move by Nov. 4’s final whistle? ESPN’s Dan Graziano says to keep an eye on running back Alvin Kamara. Graziano highlighted Kamara as “a potential trade candidate ahead of the deadline” due to the encouraging play the team has seen from Kendre Miller. He adds that the third-year pro “is running well and offers them something of an explosive element in their running game.”
Miller’s raw numbers won’t blow anyone away — he’s gained 165 rushing yards on 38 carries through five games, a rate of 4.3 yards per attempt — but there’s some impressive stuff in the details. He’s forced 15 missed tackles, per Pro Football Focus charting, which ranks 9th-most in the NFL. And he’s averaging 3.9 yards gained after contact with a defender per carry. He’s earning his yards the hard way. It’s really encouraging to see after Miller experienced so many frustrating injuries to start his career.
But should that push the Saints to trade Kamara? No. They would be lucky to get a sixth-round pick back for him, even if he’s a five-time Pro Bowler. Players his age at his position just don’t have the value on the trade block they used to. And from a salary cap perspective, trading Kamara now wouldn’t move the needle. The Saints would have more than $15.2 million on the books next year with or without him. It would take a better draft pick than any team would offer for a 30-year old running back to justify paying that much for him to play elsewhere.
Let’s put it another way. Right now, the Saints are paying Kamara $9.7 million for the rest of the season, and $18.6 million in 2026. Then his contract expires in 2027, leaving behind a modest $8.1 million in dead money. If they traded Kamara today, they would owe him $7.95 million for the rest of the year (saving $2.6 million), while his new team has to pay just $1.76 million for the rest of 2025. Next year, the Saints would have to pay $15.2 million in dead money and Kamara’s new team would owe him $11.5 million (just $3 million of which is guaranteed). That’s a bad deal for New Orleans no matter how you slice it.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints trade rumors: Kendre Miller may make Alvin Kamara available
