What's a reasonable contract extension for Kamara to avoid possible holdout? (2 Viewers)

[Saint Greg]

8.5 million a year for 4 years seems reasonable to me.

Love it. Don't think he will though. I think he's going to want 15mil/yr and I can't see us paying it. I have a feeling he's going the way of Jimmy Graham and Brandin Cooks.

 

[whodatphil]

It’s January... ??‍

Y’all have given a hold out and traded him away already lol

 

[LiterOCola]

4 year 60 million dollar extension is gonna be what his agent will demand, with 45 of it guaranteed.

You think that's happening?

He'll be a free agent in 2021. Good luck Alvin.

I just don’t see them going for the moon after the 2019 version of Kamara. There’s little incentive for any team to pay that now unless they are desperate and willing to gamble that they are going to get 2017-2018 Kamara.

If they aren’t willing to sign a moderately reasonable contract one of two things will happen.

1. Saints trade him to one of the aforementioned desperate teams
2. Kamara plays out his contract gambling that he can wow teams with a great year.

 

[Loose Cannon]

Some of ya'll are acting like the Kamara of the last 10 games wasn't a very obviously injured version of himself.

Are memories that short that we've forgotten how dominant he was for the first five games? Do we forget what he did to Seattle and how he embarrassed their entire defense?

He was hurt, folks.

 

[insidejob]

Some of ya'll are acting like the Kamara of the last 10 games wasn't a very obviously injured version of himself.

Are memories that short that we've forgotten how dominant he was for the first five games? Do we forget what he did to Seattle and how he embarrassed their entire defense?

He was hurt, folks.

I remember how dominant he was even this year before getting hurt, but he'll always be splitting carries as long as he's a Saint. Sure, he should have a bigger contract than Murray because of his versatility but nothing like $15M since he'll never be a 3 down back. Honestly, I don't think any RB is worth what these top backs are paid. I think $9M is the most we should be willing to pay. That's double what Ingram was paid when here and more than double what Murray is making.

 

[Loose Cannon]

I remember how dominant he was even this year before getting hurt, but he'll always be splitting carries as long as he's a Saint. Sure, he should have a bigger contract than Murray because of his versatility but nothing like $15M since he'll never be a 3 down back. Honestly, I don't think any RB is worth what these top backs are paid. I think $9M is the most we should be willing to pay. That's double what Ingram was paid when here and more than double what Murray is making.

I think that's a perfectly reasonable take, and I think I mostly agree with it. But I'm seeing a lot of "Kamara is on the decline" type posts, which is where I take issue. He was very obviously hurt this season, and not the same player. IMHO he should have either been shut down for the season or from weeks 6 through 16.

It's not intellectually honest to hold him to the 2nd half of this season as who he is as a player - that's not him. You could potentially make the "injury prone" case and that's a whole different conversation. But he's a great running back, when healthy.

 

[sammymvpknight]

There is no 5th yr option. That's only for 1st rounders. I've said this all along and have gotten flamed for it and that's fine, but imo the only option is to trade him before the draft. Get what we can now. I wouldn't pay him what hes gonna want with everyone else to sign.

The Saints have always been able to find RBs. I like Kamara but not for 10 mil a year.

A year ago, $10 million would have been a bargain. But boy did he poop the bed this year. I don’t think that there is any possible way the Saints get a contract worked out this offseason. Kamara blew it.

The challenge is that he was worth $15 million/year two years ago, and he was worth about $7-8 million/year last year. So Kamara has to hope that either someone still values him at that top figure or that he can work his way up to that figure this season to cash in next year. Either way, I’d be shocked if any team gives him a contract more than $10 million/year right now.

 

[sammymvpknight]

I think that's a perfectly reasonable take, and I think I mostly agree with it. But I'm seeing a lot of "Kamara is on the decline" type posts, which is where I take issue. He was very obviously hurt this season, and not the same player. IMHO he should have either been shut down for the season or from weeks 6 through 16.

It's not intellectually honest to hold him to the 2nd half of this season as who he is as a player - that's not him. You could potentially make the "injury prone" case and that's a whole different conversation. But he's a great running back, when healthy.

How can you shut a player down when he’s not even on the injury report? I still think that Kamara’s biggest issue the second half wasn’t physical. It was probably in the Sports psychology realm. The effort and his mental lapses were pretty disturbing. Seemed like he would prefer to be elsewhere much of the time. Funny that he’s the poster boy for Airheads...oh the irony.

 

[Loose Cannon]

How can you shut a player down when he’s not even on the injury report? I still think that Kamara’s biggest issue the second half wasn’t physical. It was probably in the Sports psychology realm. The effort and his mental lapses were pretty disturbing. Seemed like he would prefer to be elsewhere much of the time. Funny that he’s the poster boy for Airheads...oh the irony.

I'm pretty sure he was still hurt. After I posted that thread about the whole situation I researched high ankle sprains. They don't go away in 3 weeks (the rest he got) and playing on them just keeps extending the recovery window out further.

Was he simply playing on a high ankle sprain all year, which was what was obviously impacting his lateral quickness and tackle breaking ability? Or was there some sort of secret mental block or issue he was having for reasons we don't know? I dunno, but I'm an Occam's razor guy - I tend to go with the simplest answer, which is that he was hurt.

 

[TheGooch]

How can you shut a player down when he’s not even on the injury report? I still think that Kamara’s biggest issue the second half wasn’t physical. It was probably in the Sports psychology realm. The effort and his mental lapses were pretty disturbing. Seemed like he would prefer to be elsewhere much of the time. Funny that he’s the poster boy for Airheads...oh the irony.

I seriously think he wants to be playing in Baltimore with his bff

 

[grimacing_lummox]

How high a pick is Kamara worth do you think? a number 1?

 

[Doug B]

He was hurt, folks.

That, in itself, is problematic. Now he's "injury prone" and "can't carry the load as a bellcow". I'm talking about what can thrown back at his agent at the negotiating table ... not necessarily reality.

 

[sammymvpknight]

I'm pretty sure he was still hurt. After I posted that thread about the whole situation I researched high ankle sprains. They don't go away in 3 weeks (the rest he got) and playing on them just keeps extending the recovery window out further.

Was he simply playing on a high ankle sprain all year, which was what was obviously impacting his lateral quickness and tackle breaking ability? Or was there some sort of secret mental block or issue he was having for reasons we don't know? I dunno, but I'm an Occam's razor guy - I tend to go with the simplest answer, which is that he was hurt.

High ankle sprains are typically about 6 week recoveries. He also had a mysterious knee sprain of some sort which could have contributed. But again, if this was just on-the-field production I don't think that people would be as concerned right now. He looked absolutely dejected. His heart wasn't in the game. His effort was often poor and his awareness simply fell off a cliff. The lack of production was just icing on the cake, really.

 

[Loose Cannon]

He looked absolutely dejected. His heart wasn't in the game. His effort was often poor and his awareness simply fell off a cliff. The lack of production was just icing on the cake, really.

I'm not sure I saw the same thing - but I wasn't looking for or aware of it either. So it could be true.

 

[Mississippi Saints Fan]

What happens with Kamara will be interesting. Even though he had a fairly disappointing season to most, due to injuries, he still put up nearly 1,400 all purpose yards and averaged 4.7 ypc. How he performs this season is going to be key. I don't see the Saints breaking the bank for a rb. When have they ever? Of course, I never thought we'd shell out 20 mil a year on a receiver either. I guess my point is, it's going to depend on how much the Saints value him. His market value is truthfully going to be pretty high, especially if he has a great season next year.