EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsMETAIRIE, La. -- The New Orleans Saints have two practices left before returning for training camp, which begins on July 29.The voluntary portion of the Saints' offseason program gave a glimpse of what the team might look like in 2026, but their two days of mandatory minicamp Tuesday and Wednesday might provide a more in-depth glimpse at specific position groups such as running back and wide receivers.Here are questions the Saints still need to answer:Should there be concern about the injuries at wide receiver?Saints quarterback Tyler Shough spent a lot of time throwing to tight ends when the Saints ran 11-on-11 drills for the first time last week.Whether that was intentional or a product of the state of the current wide receiver room remains to be seen.There's optimism surrounding the receivers after the Saints selected Jordyn Tyson (No. 8), Bryce Lance (No. 136) and Barion Brown (No. 190). The amount of depth in the room means the Saints will have tough choices when deciding the final two or three receivers who will make the 53-man roster.But there are potential concerns at the top of that depth chart. Tyson, who is expected to be a Day 1 starter next to Chris Olave, has been limited since the second day of rookie minicamp when he did not practice.Saints coach Kellen Moore has said this is all part of a maintenance plan after Tyson spent the spring rehabbing injuries from college."I had a long combine process so it is a little good to get off my feet for a little bit, but I trust in the coaches," Tyson said at the beginning of OTAs.Olave, who missed the 2025 season finale after developing a blood clot, has also been limited in OTAs and was not at the final OTA session open to the media. Moore said Olave has been held out of some specific drills as an extra precaution due to the blood clot."He hasn't been able to do the team activities obviously through OTAs. He's not here today," Moore said last week. "We'll check in on that, but he's done a ton of work this offseason so he'll be in a good place."Will Alvin Kamara be on the roster in 2026?Kamara's surprise appearance at OTAs for the first time since 2019 didn't do anything to clear up the uncertainty that surrounds his role this season. The Saints need to address his $11.5 million salary this summer before the 30-year-old's roster spot is secure.New Orleans has about $6.5 million in available salary cap space with its draft picks signed and Kamara's $10.5 million cap number included in that accounting. While the Saints don't have to ask Kamara for a pay cut to stay cap compliant, it is likely they would prefer to have him back at a smaller number.This week's minicamp will be a last opportunity to potentially get something done in person before training camp.Newcomer Travis Etienne Jr. will make $14 million in cash in 2026 and has a new contract that averages $11.8 million a year.Etienne was recently asked if he feels like needs clarity on Kamara's situation to know what the roles will be when the season begins. He said an ideal world would feature another running back to take the load off him, but he can't speculate on "what ifs.""I've got to prepare myself to be my best self for the team no matter who's here," Etienne said. " ... We hope for the best but you've got to prepare for the worst. I'm preparing as if it's going to be me ... just carrying the weight for my team. I would love for somebody to be there to help me and take that off of me, but I'm preparing as if I'm going to be that person."Saints coach Kellen Moore said he expects to see Kamara in attendance at mandatory minicamp. Kamara has used minicamp in the past to make a point about his contract, including walking out of the final practice of 2024 minicamp when he did not have a new deal in place."That's how you always prepare," Moore said when asked if he expects Kamara to be on the roster this year. "He's on the roster and we're excited about him and he's been preparing the right way and I'm excited to get him in the fold with Travis, and I think it'd be a great opportunity."Do the Saints have work to do with their pass rush?Saints defensive coordinator Brandon Staley said there are high expectations for defensive end Chase Young this season after he signed a three-year extension and finished 2025 with a career-best 10 sacks in 12 games."The process is the same, but the starting point's going to be different for him," Staley said of Young. " ... I think he felt that consistency of his performance last year and the benefits of it and now it's about having a full calendar offseason, a full calendar training camp to hopefully start out the right way."There's a steep dropoff in production next to Young, and the Saints will have to figure out how to fill that gap after electing not to select a a pass rusher in April's draft. The Saints instead traded with the Las Vegas Raiders to get Tyree Wilson and a seventh-round pick in exchange for a fifth-round pick.While Carl Granderson, 29, has been with the team since 2019, his best season was 8.5 sacks in 2023. He finished with six sacks last year after going through a 12-game slump with no sacks.Cameron Jordan, the Saints' franchise sack leader (132), remains unsigned. The Saints have been vocal about wanting him back and have offered him a new deal, while Jordan has said he wants the best opportunity in addition to the right contract. Even if Jordan does re-sign, there's no guarantee he replicates his 10.5-sack season from last year at 37 years old."Cam's kind of navigating this thing on the personal side and I think the world of Cam. ... We know what he means to this organization, the city and so if the opportunity presents itself and he feels comfortable and ready to go, then we're ready to rock and roll," Moore said.Who are the starting DBs this fall?In the final open practice of OTAs, the Saints did some 11-on-11 work with Jonas Sanker roaming at the "Star" role, Julian Blackmon and Justin Reid at safety and Quincy Riley and Kool-Aid McKinstry at outside cornerback.Will that be the starting combination come September?The Saints signed Blackmon last summer before training camp to play safety, but he played one game before an injury derailed his season, prompting them to put Sanker, then a rookie, at that position. Sanker is now a candidate to fill in for the slot role vacated by departing free agent Alontae Taylor."We've got Jonas Sanker, he's a young player, he's very athletic, and ... we feel like he can learn this spot. He's a guy that can step into this role and do what he needs to do," McKinstry said.Staley said he felt like Sanker, who took a leap forward in the final six games of the 2025 season, quickly became a candidate to fill in for Taylor.Sanker's ability to get up to his top speed quickly is a "huge asset" and Staley called it a "trigger quality," noting it showed up in run support and when the Saints needed him to bring pressure."And then if there is a zone defender in coverage, those check counts, those balls that are running in front of us, he's got the speed to really go make it happen. And that was a big quality of Alontae's, the speed. And then when it comes to coverage, he was one of our top slot cover players, corner or safety last year," Staley said.Staley said the idea is to get the best combination of players on the field by finding spots that suit all of them."Julian and Justin are such assets deep. You're trying to get your best guys out there. There's still a long ways for us to determine who the best combination is, but we felt like he would be the right guy to be coaching there and behind him we need to make sure that we develop a lot of quality," Staley said.Who emerges as a team captain in 2026?The Saints had eight team captains last season and might need to replace as many as five after the departures of Blake Grupe, Brandin Cooks and Demario Davis. Kamara and Jordan were also team captains last year.The players vote on team captains at the beginning of the season, which will give the Saints the summer to find the new voices of the team. Shough is one natural candidate for captain after the Saints didn't have a quarterback voted as team captain last year.For defensive captains, the path is a little less clear, especially if Jordan does not return. Staley said that these things evolve naturally every year."It may just be different in terms of how it looked before and that's where you have these seasons that have a life of its own because each season is new," Staley said. "You saw it when Drew [Brees] was here and when he left ... then now what it looks like with Tyler..""And so the best leadership comes from a group, not just one. ... We're obviously going to miss Demario but we've got so many capable people and what it looks like may feel different, look different, but I think the power of it hopefully will be the same."One potential captain who could fill that leadership void is Young, who is entering his third season with the team."We expect him to shine in the leadership way too. I think he's really poised to be a real leader on our defense and our team," Staley said.
