Tag: absence

Chiefs injury, absence updates from first day of mandatory minicamp

An update on injuries and absences from Day 1 of mandatory minicamp.

The Kansas City Chiefs kicked off their three-day mandatory minicamp on Tuesday with nearly full attendance from their 90-man offseason roster.

Returning to action for the first time were RG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, CB Charvarius Ward and DE Frank Clark, who had all stayed away during voluntary OTA practices. Each of the three players hit the field for the first time and knocked off some of the rust from this offseason.

Three players were noticeably absent from practice according to numerous reporters in attendance. Those players were DB Armani Watts, OT Martinas Rankin and recently injured RG Kyle Long. Remember, players who are absent from mandatory minicamp can be fined for each practice they miss if those absences are not cleared by the team. Long, obviously, is injured and won’t be subject to any fines, but it’s not clear why Watts and Rankin are currently away from the team. You can find information on fines amounts here.

Two players were present but sidelined without helmets during practice in DE Malik Herring (ACL) and CB DeAndre Baker (Femur). Both players hadn’t been participating in OTAs because of their respective injuries. It doesn’t seem like the Chiefs will have Baker back until training camp at the earliest.

In terms of attendance, it doesn’t seem like the Chiefs have any contract-related holdouts going on this year. Everyone seems to be focused on getting better ahead of the break between mandatory minicamp and training camp.

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Jamal Adams to miss Seahawks minicamp, absence will be excused

Seattle Seahawks safety Jamal Adams will not attend the team’s mandatory minicamp but his absence will be excused for personal reasons.

The Seattle Seahawks will be without the services of safety Jamal Adams during this week’s mandatory minicamp. His absence, however, will be excused for personal reasons.

Adams is one of a number of veterans who did not attend any of the Seahawks voluntary offseason programming in person, although he did participate virtually.

The Seahawks were aware he could potentially miss the mandatory minicamp as well and had been preparing for his absence, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

Numerous outlets have now confirmed Adams has been excused from the camp and therefore not subject to the more than $93,000 fine.

More information should be made available once coach Pete Carroll addresses the media.

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Alvin Kamara returns to Saints practice, contract talks ongoing

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara returned to training camp practice on Wednesday and hashed things out with coach Sean Payton.

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The Alvin Kamara news cycle kicked into overdrive on Tuesday when the New Orleans Saints and Kamara’s representatives went back-and-forth against each other through a series of media reports, but things appear to have settled down. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Wednesday that Kamara met with Saints coach Sean Payton before practice and put everything behind them — including Kamara’s $200,000 in accrued fines after training camp absences, their active contract negotiations, and news that the Saints would be open to trading Kamara for the right price.

It’s a lot to process and work past, but Kamara and Payton appear to have gotten together and mended those fences. The goal all along has been for the Saints to re-sign their superstar running back to a long-term agreement, and having him in lockstep with the organization’s decision-maker is obviously a big win.

Kamara was expected to return to training camp practice on Wednesday, but it’s great to see him follow through on that expectation and return to work. Hopefully his agent and the Saints front office can put the finishing touches on a multiyear contract extension and keep No. 41 in black and gold for a long time.

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An Alvin Kamara absence doesn’t have as much teeth as most NFL holdouts

Alvin Kamara may be committing a holdout during New Orleans Saints training camp to advance contract talks, but it doesn’t have much teeth.

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A report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter suggested a three-day absence for Alvin Kamara at New Orleans Saints training camp was related to contract negotiations shook up the fanbase, and rightfully so: of course fans would hope one of the team’s best players was practicing every day.

But if Kamara is holding out in hopes of spurring on contract talks, he might end up being disappointed. The new collective bargaining agreement between NFL ownership and the NFL Players Association effectively killed prolonged holdouts for players on rookie contracts, including Kamara.

Per the new CBA, players who record unexcused absences during training camp are subject to fines as high as $40,000 per day. The team can choose to waive those fines, and they often have, to maintain good relations between both sides after a deal is done; but the real threat to Kamara is losing his accrued season.

If he misses more than five days of practice, Kamara will not be credited an accrued season for 2020 even if he plays in all 16 regular season games. That means he would be a restricted free agent in 2021 rather than an unrestricted free agent as he’s currently scheduled.

Kamara would then be forced to sign a one-year restricted free agent tender with the Saints, valued at between $4 and $5 million. It would work essentially the same way as a franchise tag, except for costing the Saints less than half as much against the salary cap.

Some fans might point to the three-day holdout Michael Thomas used to help speed up his own contract negotiations in training camp last year, but that was a different situation working underneath a different CBA. The risk is much higher for Kamara now than it was for Thomas then.

Per Schefter’s report, Kamara has already logged three unexcused absences. Two more and he risks costing himself significantly further on down the line, should the Saints not be spurred into signing him to a new deal.

Fortunately, both sides want an extension to happen. It’s in everyone’s interest for this situation to get resolved quickly so that Kamara can focus on the 2020 season while being paid his worth, and for the Saints to cross one item off their 2021 free agency shopping list. This bit of pressure from Kamara — slight as it may be, in the grand scheme of things — might just be what’s needed to push things over the finish line.

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REPORT: Saints’ Alvin Kamara has 3-day unexcused absence, possibly contract-related

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara missed three days of training camp practice in an unexcused absence amid contract negotiations.

The New Orleans Saints got the ball rolling on a contract extension with Alvin Kamara nearly two weeks ago, but Kamara appears to be doing what he can to push things towards the finish line. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Monday that Kamara missed three days of training camp practices, which is believed to be related to ongoing contract talks with the Saints.

Progress on a Kamara contract extension was backed up by Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football, who reported that negotiations have progressed over the last week. Kamara missed two practice sessions early last week with a stomach virus before taking an unexplained absence, which Saints coach Sean Payton declined to comment on after Monday’s practice.

Entering the final year of his rookie contract, Kamara offered his stance on a potential extension back on Aug. 10, saying: “Me and my agent talked briefly about it and I said, ‘Don’t tell me anything about a contract until it’s like something where it’s happening or if it’s something that I need to know,’ other than that, like if I was my own agent then I’d have everything to tell you guys about a contract, but I’m not. I don’t talk upstairs about contracts, I don’t talk to coaches about contracts. I’m just here to do my job.”

Hammering out a new deal for Kamara and the Saints is a tricky process. He’s played just as efficiently as Christian McCaffrey and the game’s other top-paid running backs, but Kamara hasn’t been able to match them in sheer volume. He was also hobbled by a 2019 knee injury, raising concerns about his long-term durability. But there’s no doubting whether he’s as talented as any other runner you’ll find around the league.

This is a rapidly-developing situation, and a quasi-holdout like this by Kamara could expedite things; the strategy worked for Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Melvin Ingram, who secured a $14 million guaranteed salary after sitting out several days of work. Keep an eye out for updates in the days ahead.

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