The New Orleans Saints officially have something to worry about—their star running back Alvin Kamara has not been to practice over the last three days, all of which have been unexcused absences.
According to sources, it’s believed that Kamara is not happy about his contract situation and that he is looking for an extension before the beginning of the season. New Orleans coach Sean Payton was recently asked by the press if Kamara was nursing an injury, but he declined to comment on the situation.
The situation is surprising to many, considering that Kamara stated in early August that he was not worried about contract negotiations with the Saints. However, it appears that this might have changed recently.
Kamara is easily one of the top five running backs in the NFL, who might even be the best of the bunch when it comes to catching balls out of the backfield. According to Spotrac, his current value is estimated at a four-year contract worth about $60 million. This seems about right, considering that it would make him the third-highest-paid running back in the league behind Carolina’s Christian McCaffrey and Dallas’s Ezekiel Elliot.
A standout performance in 2020 might help to get him an even larger contract than that, but it seems that Kamara would rather get an extension done before the season starts if possible.
