The Denver Broncos‘ current running back situation offers a stark reminder of their interest in other options this past offseason and in recent years, including persistent speculation about New Orleans Saints star Alvin Kamara.
Those rumors have since subsided, thanks in no small part to Kamara’s revised one-year, $6 million contract agreement to remain–and, hopefully, retire–with th Saints.
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Still, Kamara’s connection to Broncos head coach Sean Payton remains a talking point.
Payton joined former fellow NFL head coach Jason Garrett–who he coached while offensive coordinator of the New York Giants in 2000, when the latter was a quarterback in his final season–and spoke about a conversation with Kamara after seeing the RB loaf in practice.
Payton said on “Coach 2 Coach” that he texted Kamara, one of his “favorite players” who would get “bored,” and asked if he could coach him hard, including Hall of Fame expectations.
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Kamara initially bristled at Payton’s attempt but “it hit him” once Payton pointed it out.
“True story,” Kamara posted on X on September 23. “Sean would challenge all of us. The question about being coached hard was rhetorical because he was gonna do that anyways. He was a lot tougher on me though because he knew things came easy to me and I got bored. Didn’t bother me at all because we’d go back and forth talkin shit. He always knew when it was time to lock in I was ready though [laughing face emoji]. Forever grateful for you brutha.”
Kamara’s comments come at an interesting time for Payton, amid the controversy over his conversations with the Seattle Seahawks becoming public knowledge against the will of both parties, and the Broncos.
Payton and the Broncos are also dealing with significant injury concerns in the backfield.
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Kamara, though, is by all accounts content in New Orleans, where he is now operating as RB2 behind former Jacksonville Jaguars first-round pick Travis Etienne.
J.K. Dobbins was unable to finish Week 2 against the Jaguars, a game that RJ Harvey missed entirely. Rookie Jonah Coleman is also dealing with an ankle injury.
Kamara may no longer be a realistic or logical trade target for the Broncos. But he has been someone Payton cited, along with Saints great Darren Sproles, as standards for what he has wanted in the Broncos’ backfield.
Notably, Dobbins has similar dual threat ability, though he is not the pass-catcher Kamara is.
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The Broncos have not taken advantage of his skill set in that way, though, preferring Harvey in the receiving role.
Coleman has shown some promise, garnering buzz even as a fourth-round pick. But the Broncos lack the kind of versatile threat that Payton’s offenses have been at their best with in the coach’s history.
They have been successful despite that reality.
That just makes the idea of what the Broncos offense could look like with a player like Kamara at Payton, OC Davis Webb, and QB Bo Nix’s disposal even more intriguing.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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