Alvin Kamara woke up just in time to boost his trade value

Alvin Kamara rumors and speculation have run rampant the last several days. He woke up just in time on Sunday to boost his trade value further.

There may be no better time for the New Orleans Saints to trade Alvin Kamara than right now. The NFL’s trade deadline is on Tuesday, and Kamara has been brought up repeatedly in legitimate trade rumors as well as routine speculation.

Kamara earlier this week chastised the Saints for their total lack of discipline in practice and in games, juxtaposing that to how the team operated during the Sean Payton and Drew Brees era. In that rant, he slid in a comment where he said that eventually he would be gone (it was presented as a statement of logic, but do with that what you will). Many took this as a subtle signal that perhaps he was hoping he’d be traded.

Since then, rumors have come out connecting the team to the Eagles. The Saints are saying they aren’t trading him, but you have to imagine he’ll never be as valuable in the trade market as he is right now.

Alvin Kamara lit a fire under himself this week

Kamara’s rant was pointed at the entire Saints team, but maybe it motivated him more than anything else. It was the ultimate, “fine, I’ll do it myself” game, on Sunday. Kamara had 158 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns, accounting for 18 of the team’s 24 points in their shutout of the Raiders.

Credit is due to the defense to be sure, but Kamara was the star.

He displayed the ability to get yards on the ground or via short passes, with 96 receiving yards and 62 rushing.

Kamara had yet to score a touchdown this season, and all-around looked much more polished than he did in previous games. Mark Ingram went out with an injury during the game. Kamara’s nine receptions eclipsed his previous high of seven this season.

If the Saints were looking for Kamara to make a statement game to boost his trade value, this sure was it.