Saints Mailbag (June 5): You Can Doubt Alvin Kamara at Your Own Peril, Pal

Don’t you dare doubt Alvin Kamara! I don’t care if he’s 31 or 51 or 71! He’s going to return those days of old, and we’ll forget we ever heard the name Travis Etienne.

OK, so no one really went that far, but Who Dats don’t like it when you doubt what Kamara could bring to this New Orleans Saints team in 2026. Forget the fact that Coach Kellen Moore is talking about the franchise’s all-time leading rusher as a depth piece, fans KNOW he will be back and efficient this season.

That’s what I heard all week since Kamara returned to the Saints during OTAs. It just so happened to break while we were live on “Dattitude with Jim Derry” on Wednesday morning, and it obviously became a topic of conversation.

It bled over into Friday morning’s show, and we figured there was no better time for another mailbag post than the present and offer up some of the responses I received.

If you have a something to say, email to me at jim@jimderry.com or join the live Dattitude Podcast with Jim Derry each Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 11 a.m. CT. Selected responses will be highlighted here.

“He hasn’t been used the right way in a few years. No reason why he shouldn’t be catching 60 to 70 balls out of the backfield per year. He’s better than Etienne.

From: Jay Lassere on Facebook

Illogical Who Dat Alert! Illogical Who Dat Alert! Here’s exactly what I am talking about. There are so many unrealistic fans out there. (Half of the reading audience just clicked the ‘X’ button because I dared to be a realist instead of a fan boy.)

Sorry, but the days of 60 to 70 catches out of the backfield are gone. Period. You don’t jump from 33 catches as a 30-year-old back upward to 60 as a 31-year-old. Ain’t happening.

Second, no one who isn’t riding a magic carpet could possibly believe at this stage of his career Kamara is better than Etienne. I’m not even sure if you gave Kamara truth serum he would say he is better than Etienne.

And if the Saints thought that, they would be thrilled Kamara returned. They certainly don’t seem to be anything that resembles thrilled. It was more like, “Oh hey, it’s you.” Sort of like the look my wife gives me when I come back from poker.

“AK showing up is making a statement on the optics of the situation and places pressure on the Saints.”

From: @ahammedhassan4883 on YouTube

I don’t doubt that. But as I said, the Saints aren’t budging.

If Kamara refuses to take a pay cut, I doubt the team is going to be willing to bring him back, even though it won’t help much with the cap situation. It’s sort of the point of the thing.

Hell, I am not even sure they want him back even if he does take a pay cut. I will get into why they would consider dumping him with the next entry, but while I am sure Kamara wanted to make it clear to the Saints he wants to come back, I’ll believe they want him back when they say so publicly.

On a side note, why wouldn’t they just say one way or another? It really doesn’t make sense at this point to make anyone wait. Maybe the agent is playing chicken? (He’s gonna lose.)

“Are we rebuilding or going for it? If we’re going for it, then AK is RB2. If we’re still rebuilding, then we can argue about touches for the youngsters. I don’t care about Neal, Estimé or Miller. Playoffs!”

From: @dough3859 on YouTube

You better care about all of those young dudes. (Blasphemy incoming …) Those guys are way more important than Kamara. Let’s get real, this is still a rebuilding year, and if the Saints happen to make a run while doing so, great!

Here are my 3 potential scenarios for what could happen going forward with Alvin Kamara and the #Saints. Might seem obvious, but if it were, we'd have a resolution by now. https://t.co/vKzkYHbUTW
— Jim Derry (@JimDerryJr) June 4, 2026

But to steal carries from a potential RB2 of the future – and we’re talking the next three to four or even five years – would be a giant mistake, in my opinion.

“I’m in the minority, but Kamara should have been traded when he had more value a couple of years ago.”

From: @Mal-223 on YouTube

You most definitely are in the minority. You keep talking like that, and no one will ever read this mailbag again.

“AK doesn’t need the money. He lived off his endorsements like Marshawn Lynch did all his career. I think AK just wants to be used in his own way and doesn’t want to burn out.”

From: @CharlesMangus on YouTube

No question Kamara has saved his money and doesn’t NEED to play football for financial reasons. But it is clear he still wants to play, and we didn’t really know that was the case before Wednesday.

And you have a point – I do think that if the team does bring him back and he isn’t a distraction as an RB2, one could reasonably expect in the neighborhood of 10 touches per game. I am not sure he could handle more than that at age 31.

He had 14.4 last season, and he was done after Game 11.

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