EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsNEW ORLEANS -- Saints running back Alvin Kamara is heading into the 2026 NFL season with his eyes wide open.Kamara has been a fixture in New Orleans since the team selected him in the third round of the 2017 draft. His role as the Saints' lead back seemed immoveable for several years, even through three coaching changes between 2021 and 2025.But his role didn't seem as stable coming off the worst statistical season of his pro career. The Saints signed 27-year-old Travis Etienne Jr. to a four-year deal in free agency worth almost $12 million each year.Kamara, who turns 31 on Saturday and plays a position often not well suited for longevity, seemed like he might be reaching the end of his time in New Orleans. The Saints had already moved on from multipositional player Taysom Hill; failed to reach an agreement with linebacker Demario Davis, who signed with the New York Jets; and held firm on their contract offer to defensive end Cameron Jordan for several months."I think any athlete, you get so used to the norm, right? You get so caught up in like, 'OK, well these guys are going to be here, I'm going to be here,'" Kamara said in June when asked about the departures of his former teammates. "And then when it changes, it's like we're so used to routine that it hurts. It stings a little bit, but you got to be realistic, man."The game evolves. It's not 2017, '20, '22 anymore. It's moving. I mean, I'm blessed to be in it this long."But after agreeing to a revised contract this summer, Kamara will have at least one more chance to turn back the clock. He said the addition of Etienne suits him just fine, pointing out that some of his best years came next to another talented running back.In an ideal world, the Saints would recreate the "Boom and Zoom" days, when Kamara and Mark Ingram II made history by becoming the first pair of running backs to each eclipse 1,500 yards from scrimmage while playing on the same team. That milestone earned Kamara NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2017."Just having two talented backs, it benefits each back," Kamara said. "I don't think you have an issue with defenses focusing on one or the other. It's like you got to try to prepare for both. I mean, it puts him in a dilemma right there. ... I think we'll complement each other well."Kamara's best statistical season (21 total touchdowns and 1,688 yards from scrimmage) came in 2020 when paired with Latavius Murray, who had 832 yards from scrimmage that season.As the 2026 season approaches, Saints coach Kellen Moore will have to figure out a way to use both running backs, an issue he has embraced since the team signed Etienne. Moore said in March at the NFL's annual meeting in Phoenix that there would be a way to find a role for both players, whom he described as having similar skill sets."Both of them have the explosive, elusive ability to play in all three phases, which is beneficial," Moore said.Etienne, the Jacksonville Jaguars' first-round pick in 2021, rushed for at least 1,000 yards in three of his four seasons there and scored a career-best 13 total touchdowns in 2025.While he hasn't had as much of an emphasis in the passing game as Kamara, who caught at least 80 passes for the first four seasons of his career, Etienne has had at least 30 catches each season and caught six touchdown passes in 2025."He's a really smart player. But because of his smarts and his football IQ, I think he's truly any down, every down, he can play a really valuable role in that situation where you're not rotating as much," Moore said, before expanding on Etienne's time in Jacksonville. "I thought he did a phenomenal job in that system, and so there's some similarities from what he was asked to do from a run game perspective. His suddenness and one cut and his vision shows up, and then the passing components that he was able to utilize there, we'll certainly continue utilizing that."Some of the similarities between the backs might not have been a coincidence. Etienne said he has looked up to Kamara since his college recruitment days, when the Tennessee coaches tried to entice him to Knoxville by envisioning him as another Kamara."Coach [Butch] Jones was telling me I could come there and kind of play that role similar to Alvin because I feel like he was truly one of the first guys to be a receiver outside of the backfield. And I feel like I try to marry my game after him in some ways like that," Etienne said.Etienne chose Clemson instead, but continued to watch Kamara, recalling his six-touchdown game against the Minnesota Vikings in 2020. Kamara, he said, needs no introduction."When you have a great player like that, you love to have him on your side. ... I feel like whenever I come out of the game, he goes in, keep defense on their toes. So that'd be a great one-two punch," Etienne said.As Kamara prepares for what could be his last season, he is embracing the possibility of what the two could accomplish together."I've played every role throughout my career, I've split time. I started as a No. 3 basically behind Mark and Adrian [Peterson] and all that," Kamara said. "Mark leaves and Latavius comes in, it's the same thing. I don't feel any pressure or any type of animosity for a dude coming in, getting paid and people being excited. He's good player. S---, I'm excited for him. I'm excited for me because it helps me ... because I've been there before, I know. ... When you have more than one option to go to, it helps everyone. It's exciting."
