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The Saints now have their building blocks on offense once Drew Brees retires.

After signing Michael Thomas to a lucrative extension last year, New Orleans locked up offensive weapon Alvin Kamara to a new deal that will keep him with the Saints for the foreseeable future.

The running back will make $75 million in new money over the five-year extension, including a $15 million signing bonus, according to a source. ***premium***

The deal comes after some fireworks erupted last week. Depending on who you ask, Kamara either held out or was resting after getting treatment away from the facility on his back. A lack of communication created some frustration, which then led to trade rumors, but all of that is now in the past.

The push and pull on this deal started with the Saints offering $12.5 million per year, according to a source. So, for Kamara to end up in this range shows how willing New Orleans was to stretch to get this deal done. Doing so makes sense considering the unique set of skills he brings and what he’ll mean to New Orleans during the post-Brees era.

The Saints almost certainly wouldn’t have been willing to pay Kamara in this range if he were just a one-dimensional running back who didn’t bring much to the passing game. But he is a dynamic playmaker who is effective running the ball but can also run the entire route tree. The mismatches he creates on the field benefit everyone in the offense, making it easier for everyone to produce.

"He's a threat. They have to have to game plan for him," Thomas said. "They have to know where he's at every snap, he has to be accounted for every play. So, he's a threat on our offense that has big play ability. So, the smart defensive coordinators are going to game plan real hard for him and try to come up with ways to stop him or slow him down, but it's hard to stop a guy like that."

Since joining the Saints in 2017, Kamara has run 359 routes from outside positions or from the slot. He isn't like a typical running back who is limited to running hitches, go and out routes. Kamara has run 29 different routes, including more intricate routes like out and ups and corner-go routes. He has been targeted on 19 of those routes. He most frequently does run the go-to routes (102 go routes, 45 hitches, 32 out routes) but has mixed in a good amount of slants (26) and drags (15). A lot of what he does from those spots are also flats and screens. The whip route (five catches on 15 routes) has also become somewhat of a weapon for him.

This flexibility plays a big part in allowing Sean Payton to disguise his plays and create window dressing that allows him to run the same plays but from different looks. While there has been a lot of talk about positionless football on the defensive side of the ball, the offense has been the same thing for a quite a while. New Orleans runs one play that features an out-and-up and a go route on the same side of the field. Over the last three years, Kamara has run the out-and-up, the go and several routes out of the backfield. There are no tells.

If Kamara were a power back like Derrick Henry, he likely would not have carried the same value to New Orleans. 

When Brees moves on, whether after this season or the next, having dynamic playmakers will help whoever next stands under center. That player will almost certainly not be a generational talent like Brees, but that might not matter if the Saints keep their core intact. Teddy Bridgewater was able to win five games last season by not making mistakes and relying on Thomas and Kamara to make plays.

If the next quarterback is Jameis Winston or another traditional pocket passer, he'll have Kamara around to lighten the load and and help in the same ways. If Taysom Hill takes over, and a bigger part of the offense becomes read-option based, the running back will become even more valuable. Kamara and Hill often play off of one another on these runs and will create a deadly combination if unleashed fully.  

The key for Kamara will now be to remain healthy. His game tape is second to none. Before getting injured against Jacksonville last season, the running back was on pace to break more than 100 tackles and produce nearly 2,000 yards from scrimmage. When at his best, there might not be a more talented running back in the NFL.

The problem is that Kamara has suffered setbacks with injuries. He only produced about 1,300 yards from scrimmage last year, which is why his contract is a little shy of Dallas’ Ezekiel Elliott and Carolina’s Christian McCaffrey, who have produced some 2,000- yard seasons.

This deal is a good compromise for both sides. Kamara could have bet on himself, played out the season, and potentially eclipsed McCaffrey’s money if he stayed healthy and produced as expected. But he had to give a little something up to get paid now. This way, he doesn’t have to worry about injury and is protecting himself in the event the league’s economics do not rapidly improve, and player contracts take a dip in value.

New Orleans now has a lot of work to keep players like Marshon Lattimore, Ryan Ramczyk and potentially safety Marcus Williams. But two of the bigger pieces from recent drafts – Thomas and Kamara – have now become franchise cornerstones.