Alvin Kamara and Sean Payton reunited in Denver?

It’s a bit of a long shot, but it’s possible.

Mostly because Kamara could be cut by the Saints to save money toward the 2026 salary cap.

Alvin Kamara and Sean Payton teaming up in Denver?

The Denver Broncos are looking for another running back; could Kamara be the guy?

FTN Fantasy recently went through NFL contracts and found cap cut possibilities. Kamara in New Orleans was one of them.

Currently, the Saints are $41.6M over the salary cap in 2026.

Cutting Kamara would mean $10.1M in dead cap in 2026, and another $8.1M dead cap in 2027, but they’d still save $8.5M toward the 2026 cap.

From the piece:

Kamara’s $18 million cap hit in 2026 isn’t astronomical, but it does rank third on the team. He also turns 31 in July. Kamara voiced opposition to playing anywhere other than New Orleans ahead of last season’s trade deadline, but maybe releasing him with the freedom to choose where he will end his career has some appeal.

With only one more year on his deal, will the Saints actually release him?

“I think, look, it’s unfortunate he got hurt toward the end of the season, but Alvin is always prepared, he’s always a talented, talented guy,” Loomis said. “I don’t see a lot of difference there. … I haven’t had a conversation with Alvin since the season ended so I’m excited to have that with him and see where … he’s at and his mind space, but Alvin (has) been such an important part of our team for the last, you know, 9 years, whatever it’s been, and he’s a talented player. We have to give him the right opportunities and we’ll see how that goes going forward.”

It’s also worth nothing Kamara said he wants to stay in New Orleans.

Is Kamara worth signing?

At 31 years old when the 2026 season kicks off, Alvin Kamara is past that magic number of 30 where we see a lot of running backs sharply decline.

Maybe he’s already hit that decline. His 51.7 overall grade, and 61.0 rushing grades from Pro Football Focus were both 55th out of 55 qualifying running backs last year.

Would he be worth signing?

It all depends on if Payton thinks he can still get good-to-great production out of Kamara in Denver.

The last time Payton coached Kamara was five years ago, way back in 2021. That means Kamara hasn’t been in Payton’s offense in five years, and there’s likely a bunch of changes to the scheme since back then. So it’s not just plug and play, necessarily.

There’s also the question of fit in terms of Kamara and Harvey’s playing styles. Both of them are incredibly similar; smaller, faster backs who like to get outside and both can catch the ball well.

And then there’s picking up the blitz. Kamara was 96th in pass blocking last year. Meanwhile, J.K. Dobbins was 12th, and Harvey was 24th.

We should keep in mind that Kamara was banged up all last season. It was his worst year ever, yes, but injury seemed to play a lot into that. Plus, he was playing with two different replacement level quarterbacks in Spencer Rattler and then Tyler Shough. And an overall terrible offense.

Kamara could possibly bounce back with a change of scenery. And landing with Payton could be perfect for him. Though, it may not be perfect for the Broncos.

If Alvin Kamara is cut, he’s a name to keep an eye on. Especially if the Broncos haven’t signed another free agent running back—like Rachaad White, Tyler Allgeier, or bringing back Dobbins—by then.