Canal Street Chronicles
The New Orleans Saints will report to training camp on July 29th. Training camp is the first big step to preparing for the NFL season, and there is a ton of excitement both within and outside the building for the 2026 Saints.
New Orleans has plenty of expectations for the upcoming season. With the breakout of Tyler Shough, the Saints are in a position to win the NFC South in 2026, if they actually complete that feat is another discussion.
The Saints officially reworked Alvin Kamara’s contract just a couple of weeks ahead of training camp, putting the narrative that he wouldn’t be a Saint in 2026 to rest. But now that the 30-year-old running back is officially set to play for New Orleans in 2026, what will his role look like?
When the Saints signed Travis Etienne to a four-year $47.4 million contract, it was clear he would be the team’s RB1 going forward. Accordingly, New Orleans had to restructure Kamara’s contract, lowering his pay from $11.5 million to $6 million with a chance to make up to $8.5 million with incentives.
While Kamara’s pay was lowered, it doesn’t mean he won’t have a pivotal role in the Saints’ offense. The veteran running back is no longer expected to touch the ball 20+ times a game, and while that could be seen as a negative, it gives Kamara a chance to be more explosive in-game. Kamara will be tackled less and be featured more in play designs made just for him. This lowers his chances of getting injured, something he’s dealt with over the past few seasons, and sets him up for the offensive staff to utilize his skill set to its max.
Training camp will just be a glimpse of what the black and gold have planned for the veteran running back, but it will be interesting to see what Kellen Moore envisions with the Kamara-Etienne tandem.
There are a lot of questions in the Saints’ secondary, specifically around the cornerback room. New Orleans was surprisingly quiet during the 2026 NFL Draft in terms of adding to their secondary, waiting until the seventh round to finally make an addition with Iowa defensive back T.J. Hall. But the Saints swiftly added cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. shortly after.
Second-year cornerback Quincy Riley took over CB2 duties last season as a rookie and showed plenty of promise. But with his promise came glaring mistakes, some you may be able to excuse to him being a rookie, but others that show a clear need to improve.
While Riley was the team’s CB2 last season, Emerson was a high-level CB2 during his time with the Cleveland Browns before suffering a significant injury. When asked whether he’ll play in the slot or as a boundary corner, Emerson said discussions with the team while signing pointed towards him being an outside corner.
With Emerson being signed as an outside corner, does that push Riley...
