Tag: holdout

Pete Carroll, Seahawks hoping to ‘work something out’ with DK Metcalf

Seahawks WR DK Metcalf was a no-show for minicamp but coach Pete Carroll said he’s hoping a deal gets done by the start of training camp.

Seattle Seahawks star wide receiver DK Metcalf was a no-show for the start of the team’s mandatory minicamp on Tuesday. The absence came as a bit of a surprise as Metcalf was present when voluntary OTAs kicked off last month.

Coach Pete Carroll was asked about the situation following Thursday’s practice.

“It was a decision that he had to make,” Carroll told reporters. “We missed him. He had done a nice job contributing and being a part of everything we had done and then he’s not here. I can’t say much for what he hasn’t done here but we’d love to have him with us.”

Metcalf is entering the last year of his rookie contract and is likely more than aware of the price other receivers around the league have been commanding. Carroll understands the position of the young receiver.

“There’s been conversations,” Carroll said. “Pretty standard, kinda semi-quiet right now. Camp’s coming up. These are crucial weeks to get something done, we’ll see what happens and hopefully, we can work something out.”

Carroll would not comment on what actions, if any, the team would take regarding the unexcused absence.

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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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How far apart are Alvin Kamara and the Saints in contract talks?

The New Orelans Saints and superstar running back Alvin Kamara are reportedly not too far apart in contract talks, but it could fall apart.

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Well, that escalated quickly. On Monday, ESPN reported that Alvin Kamara had missed three practice sessions in what may have been an in-house holdout related to his ongoing contract negotiations with the New Orleans Saints.

On Tuesday, NFL insider Josina Anderson reported that the Saints would consider trading Kamara; a report backed up by The Athletic’s Jeff Duncan, which said that the Saints would move Kamara if they can’t reach an agreement on a contract extension. Duncan added that the Saints would seek a first round draft pick in trade compensation.

So how far apart are they? Nick Underhill reported for NewOrleans.Football that proposals from the Saints and Kamara’s representatives are “about $2 million apart” in per-year salary. FOX 8 NOLA’s Sean Fazende reported that the latest offer from the Saints averaged slightly more than $12 million per year.

That would suggest Kamara’s seeking roughly $14 million per year, which is what Joe Mixon earned in his recent Cincinnati Bengals contract. But Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports reported that the Saints view this new Mixon deal “as a starting point,” and that they’re comfortable paying him him north of $12 million per year — but that Kamara is pushing for the $16 million in earnings Christian McCaffrey receives from the Carolina Panthers.

Some clarity on the trade buzz came from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, who reported after a conversation with Kamara and his agent that any trade interest is coming from the other side of the bargaining table, not from them. Rapoport added that Kamara has not threatened a holdout or avoied the practice facility; previous NFL Network reports said that Kamara was dealing with a minor injury, causing him to miss practice.

The truth of it all probably falls somewhere in the middle. We’re speculating here, but after reviewing all of the different reports, it appears the Saints were willing to bump their offer up to $14 million (matching Mixon) from $12 million, which Kamara’s camp previously wanted. But that $2 million gap remained after Mixon raised the market, and now Kamara might be pressuring the Saints into approaching $16 million, which prompted the Saints to open up to trade possibilities. Maybe.

It’s a tough situation to navigate on its own, much less when you’re doing so with a bunch of tweets and media reports that are all, at best, secondhand information. The only certainty here is that the Saints aren’t that far apart in negotiating a new contract from what Kamara desires — it’s just a matter of which side blinks first, or if the Saints decide this close to the finish line that they actually want to blow it all up. We’ll see what happens next.

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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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Todd Gurley, Melvin Gordon situations should caution Saints and Alvin Kamara

Melvin Gordon’s Chargers holdout failed, as did Todd Gurley’s big Rams contract. How can Alvin Kamara and the Saints learn from them?

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What can Alvin Kamara and the New Orleans Saints learn from the still-developing market for running backs? With Kamara now eligible to sign a long-term contract extension, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if he considers a training camp holdout, much like wide receiver Michael Thomas did last year during negotiations for a new deal.

But recent  history may suggest that isn’t the way to go. Just ask former Los Angeles Chargers running back Melvin Gordon, who held out extensively last season when talks broke down with the Chargers front office. Gordon ended up leaving in free agency for just $13.5 million in guarantees from the Denver Broncos, a huge drop-off from what he had hoped to earn in L.A.

But look to the other end of the spectrum, with the cross-town Rams. They paid out a league-best contract extension to Todd Gurley, the face of their franchise, but cut him to avoid paying a big roster bonus. The Georgia Bulldogs star, just 25 years old, ended up returning to play for the Atlanta Falcons on a one-year, $5 million deal.

So what do these stories mean for Kamara and the Saints? They might be cautionary tales for both parties. Gordon’s failed holdout resulted in an unceremonious departure from the team, and a fresh start on a much-depressed salary. Gurley earned the payout all running backs want (and which Kamara should aspire to), but his performance fell below expectations and the Rams chose to cut him despite losing $20.15 million in dead money.

The lesson here for the Saints and Kamara, if there is one, might be that they should both work to meet in the middle. A market-setting contract would not guarantee that Kamara ends up playing for a different team in a few years, and a holdout might accelerate that change. But if the two sides can work together to find an agreeable salary that keeps Kamara around, everyone wins.

But isn’t that the challenge everyone faces at the negotiating table? With new deals on the horizon for all-star running backs like Kamara, Derrick Henry, Christian McCaffrey, and Kenyan Drake, teams all around the league will soon be grappling with these questions, and maybe looking back at other teams’ struggles to try and learn something.

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