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.
Alvin Kamara’s role in the offense
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.
Who is CB2?
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 to the nickel? Or is Riley or Emerson starting in front of the other one while another player takes on slot responsibilities? We don’t know yet, but training camp will be a big indicator of who the team believes is more fit for the role.
Is Jordyn Tyson healthy enough?
The Saints swung for the fences by drafting Arizona State wide receiver Jordyn Tyson. An enticing but risky pick. Tyson has all the talent to be the best wideout in the 2026 NFL Draft, but injuries have plagued his college career. Even after playing in over 10+ games in just one college season, the Saints were comfortable enough to take Tyson eighth overall.
The talented rookie wide receiver offers Shough a new weapon on offense and will play a complementary part alongside Chris Olave. But the alarm bells have already rung as Tyson has missed during OTAs and rookie minicamp. Coach Moore has already stepped in and put an end to those conversations, however, saying this was just a precautionary step as Tyson recovers from strains in both his hamstrings that he suffered during his senior year.
While Moore has tried to end the injury discussions for Tyson, his availability throughout training camp will tell if he is on track to start and how he is doing during recovery.
