Alvin Kamara suggested as a trade candidate during free agency

Alvin Kamara has been called a cap casualty candidate and trade candidate this offseason, but he is a part of the Saints’ 2024 plan:

Alvin Kamara is under siege. Some people want him out of New Orleans. We’ve seen the New Orleans Saints running back suggested as a trade piece to help an AFC contender take down the Kansas City Chiefs, but that was fantasy.

Kamara has more seriously been suggested as a potential salary cap casualty, and the team does need to figure out a solution for the challenges posed by his contract. Now, Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport sees Kamara as a surprise trade candidate, writing:

Kamara is coming off a season in which he set a new career low in scrimmage yards. In two of the past three seasons, Kamara has failed to gain four yards per carry. New Orleans spent a Day 2 pick last year on Kendre Miller—ostensibly as Kamara’s successor. And Kamara has reached the point in his career where running backs generally begin to decline.

It’s fully understandable why people would feel New Orleans should move on from Kamara. Most teams are ready to throw away their running backs when they begin to get close to 30 years old. Derrick Henry was released by the Tennessee Titans right after hitting 30. Kendre Miller does seemed poised to replace Kamara if he can stay healthy. Combine the age, drop in production, and heir-apparent on the roster and it’s understandable why Kamara is assumed to be on his way out in New Orleans.

Kamara is still a prominent part of improving the rushing attack. With the introduction of offensive corodinator Klint Kubiak, the Saints running game should be revitalized. Kamara has not been put in a position to succeed over the last couple of seasons. He should and will be given one more season to prove he hasn’t lost it. There isn’t a better system for him to prove that than the Shanahan system Kubiak will be installing.

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Chiefs HC Andy Reid comments on Jamaal Charles’ Hall of Fame candidacy

#Chiefs HC Andy Reid gave Jamaal Charles his endorsement after news broke that the prolific running back will be on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2024.

Jamaal Charles is one of the best running backs in Kansas City Chiefs history, and when news broke that he is officially a Hall of Fame candidate for the class of 2024, nobody in Western Missouri was surprised.

Perhaps the least taken aback was Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, who commented on Charles’ candidacy during his comments to reporters on Wednesday.

“[He is a] Hall of Fame [caliber] player,” Reid told the media. “He was tremendous, could do everything. I mean literally everything; he could have played wide receiver, did play running back. You give him the ball, you’re guaranteed – whatever his average is but it’s one of the highest if not the highest in league history. He’s a great player, wish I would have had him when he was even younger than what I got him at.”

It seems that Charles has Reid in his corner as he hopes to be forever enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The ringing endorsement that the long-tenured head coach gave Charles on Wednesday may give Hall of Fame voters that extra push to give him the ultimate honor next August.

Former Chiefs DE Breeland Speaks candidate for USFL Defensive Player of the Year

Former #Chiefs DE Breeland Speaks is picking up steam as a candidate for the USFL Defensive Player of the Year award as he leads the league in sacks through five weeks.

Former Kansas City Chiefs draft pick Breeland Speaks is dominating in his first season with the USFL’s Michigan Panthers. At the season’s halfway point, he’s already earning consideration for the USFL’s Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Speaks is the USFL’s sack leader through Week 5 with 6.5 sacks for the Panthers. He earned the league’s Defensive Player of the Week honors twice in that span, most recently after recording 2.5 sacks in Michigan’s loss to the Pittsburgh Maulers. While his team only has a 2-3 overall record through five games, Speaks has been a big-time bright spot for the spring football league.

A second-round pick out of Ole Miss in the 2018 NFL draft, Speaks played all 16 games as a rookie in Kansas City, recording 24 tackles and 1.5 sacks. He spent the entire 2019 season on injured reserve and was released during final roster cuts ahead of the 2020 NFL season.

His performance in the USFL could certainly be his path back to the NFL, with his potential as a professional finally being realized. You can watch Speaks in action this weekend on FOX at 1:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 20, when the Panthers take on Birmingham Stallions at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan.

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Chiefs assistant GM Mike Borgonzi among GM candidates for 2022 hiring cycle

With multiple general manager vacancies, #Chiefs Assistant GM Mike Borgonzi could be a hot name in the 2022 hiring cycle.

A member of the Kansas City Chiefs front office staff could be a hot name in the 2022 general manager hiring cycle.

With confirmed general manager vacancies for the Chicago Bears, New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings, our friends at Touchdown Wire detailed the best general manager candidates for the upcoming hiring cycle. Among the candidates listed was Chiefs Assistant GM Mike Borgonzi.

Last offseason, the Chiefs had a pair of candidates who interviewed for positions. Executive Director of Player Personnel Ryan Poles and VP of Football Operations Brandt Tilis were both interviewed for the Carolina Panthers’ GM vacancy. Borgonzi, however, didn’t see much traction in the previous hiring cycle.

Here’s what Touchdown Wire’s Mark Schofield had to say about Borgonzi:

“Mike Borgonzi’s name is another that keeps cropping up during discussions of potential general managers. A member of the Kansas City Chiefs’ front office since 2009, Borgonzi was promoted to assistant general manger this past season after serving as the team’s director of football operations.

Looking at the moves the Chiefs have made during his time with the organization you can see why Borgonzi’s name pops up during these discussions. You certainly know the names at the top of the drafts, but Borgonzi reportedly played a role in some later-round selections, such as L’Jarius Sneed, Kareem Hunt and Travis Kelce.

Last year’s promotion, and his tenure with the team, is a nod to how the organization views him. But opportunities to take over a franchise do not come around every day.”

Borgonzi has really been Brett Veach’s right-hand man during his tenure as general manager in Kansas City. The two served as Co-Directors of Player Personnel under John Dorsey. It’s easy to see how Borgonzi would be an attractive hire for a team as he’s served under three different front offices in Kansas City, first joining the team back in 2009. He’s seen a lot of growth during his time with the Chiefs, so they’d probably be motivated to keep him if possible.

In his first season as Assistant GM, Kansas City had one of its best draft classes in recent memory. They landed two studs in the second round, with C Creed Humphrey and LB Nick Bolton. The team also managed to find the steal of the 2021 NFL draft in RG Trey Smith.

We’ll find out in the coming weeks if Borgonzi or any other members of the Chiefs’ front office are slated to interview for current general manager openings.

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Wisconsin’s Jim Leonhard named by PackersWire as a possible candidate for their opening at DC

USATODAY’s PackersWire named Leonhard in their list of possible candidates for the Green Bay Packers’ opening at defensive coordinator.

With another NFL and college football offseason comes more rumors of Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard moving up in the world and landing a job at a higher level.

I mean it makes sense given the fact that he’s become one of the best coordinators in the country and given the coaching carousel we see across the sport every season.

Related: PHOTOS: Jim Leonhard’s meteoric rise to Wisconsin defensive coordinator

For Wisconsin sports fans, though, this has a chance to get extremely interesting as our colleagues at PackersWire named Leonhard in their list of possible candidates for the Green Bay Packers’ opening at defensive coordinator.

Here’s what they had to say about the potential fit:

“No list would be complete without Leonhard, another Pettine disciple who has run dominant Wisconsin defenses in Madison since 2017. He has NFL playing experience, and while hiring a college coach always has risks, the college game often bleeds into the NFL, and Leonhard’s defenses have been among the nation’s best every year.”

A necessary note: this is pure projection and speculation and there haven’t been any reports linking Leonhard to the Packers’ job, or any other job for that matter.

Related: Notable departures from Wisconsin football heading into 2021

In a hypothetical world, though, this would be a slam-dunk hire for the Packers and a catastrophic loss for the Badgers at the same time.

For the fans out there that bleed Packer green (or gold?) and Badger red at the same time, I wonder what the reaction would be after seeing Leonhard travel across the state and take a job in Green Bay.

Contact/Follow us @TheBadgersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin news, notes, opinion and analysis.

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Could Steve Sarkisian & Pete Golding leave Alabama for HC jobs elsewhere in 2021?

With head coaching vacancies popping up at college football programs all over the nation, rumors are beginning to swirl regarding Alabama..

Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide have now held onto the same offensive coordinator, Steve Sarkisian, and defensive coordinator, Pete Golding for two seasons. However, a revolving door of assistant coaches is something Saban and fans are all too familiar with.

With the team being No. 1 in the nation, likely heading to the College Football Playoffs and recruiting enough talent to load the first round of the NFL draft, Saban’s coaching team is likely going to be viewed, if they aren’t already, by programs who currently have, or will have, head coaching vaccancies.

Golding, who received crticism for Alabama’s poor defensive performance to start the season, has had a strong showing in recent weeks, only allowing one touchdown in the last three games. While he is not currently being considered for a head coaching position at a major program, there are reports tying him to the Southern Mississippi job.

John Brice of FootballScoop.com reports that on a list of names to emerge as coaches on a “wish list,” Golding is one of the vetted potential candidates, and his time spent with Saban an the Crimson Tide are viewed highly.

Sarkisian is a bit more experienced in the realm of coaching outside of Alabama, especially being the head coach of a major program.

Having been the head coach at Washington, USC and even being an NFL offensive coordinator for the Falcons, Sarkisian knows what he could be in for when accepting a job with such high responsibility.

South Carolina, who fired head coach Will Muschamp in the middle of his fifth season with the Gamecocks, could have high interest in the Alabama offensive coordinator. ‘The State,’ a local newspaper published in Columbia, South Carolina, has already deemed him a “potential South Carolina football coach,” and published a piece detailing some facts about Sarkisian.

However, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit believes that Sarkisian could utilize this potential offer as a way to secure a raise at Alabama and remain with the program to one day hope to be Saban’s successor after he inevitably retires.

As of now, nothing is official and there have not been any actual reports, just rumors.

Roll Tide Wire will keep you updated on any news regarding Steve Sarkisian or Pete Golding.