The New Orleans Saints are one of the more interesting teams in the NFL due to their high hopes for 2026 and the exciting players on their roster. But even with the positive momentum and excitement of last season, the Saints have been hit by an injury plague.
One of the offensive weapons, star running back Alvin Kamara, went down with a knee injury in training camp.
New Orleans Saints Trade for Veteran RB
This offseason, the Saints had the goal of upgrading the RB room after a lackluster year, and Travis Etienne Jr. was a top target in free agency. They ended up signing the former Jacksonville Jaguar, and a new duo for Etienne and Kamara was created in New Orleans.
In training camp, these two have looked dynamic, so Kamara’s injury was a major disappointment.
Behind Kamara, the Saints have three main depth options: Kendre Miller, who has a long history of injuries; Devin Neal, who suffered a hamstring injury against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 2; and Audric Estime, who is recovering from an injury suffered in Week 1 of preseason.
Clearly, additions needed to be made, and the Saints did that by trading away LB Deion Jones (who was just recently signed) for San Francisco 49ers RB Zamir White (also recently signed).
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After the trade, the NFL world reacted:
Saints insider Ross Jackson gave some insight into the members of the deal and revealed a tough injury update for fans. He wrote, “Siants signed Deion Jones, bringing him back to his hometown with a LB room that appeared all but settled. Now he’ll have a chance to catch on in Vegas while the Saints get reinforcements at RB. It’s my understanding that Devin Neal will miss some time. This helps.”
#Saints signed Deion Jones, bringing him back to his hometown with a LB room that appeared all but settled.
Now he’ll have a chance to catch on in Vegas while the Saints get reinforcements at RB.
It’s my understanding that Devin Neal will miss some time. This helps. https://t.co/zOg0dJUl2T
— Ross Jackson (@RossJacksonNOLA) August 24, 2026
49ers analyst David Lombardi revealed some perspective from San Francisco’s side, revealing that White was not going to make the roster, and getting Jones was important for new DC Raheem Morris.
He wrote, “The 49ers trade for a veteran Raheem Morris guy — Deion Jones was with Atlanta when Morris was the DC there. And they pay next to nothing to get it: Zamir White wasn’t projected to make the roster anyway.”
The 49ers trade for a veteran Raheem Morris guy — Deion Jones was with Atlanta when Morris was the DC there.
And they pay next to nothing to get it: Zamir White wasn’t projected to make the roster anyway https://t.co/rtxUdsU2Pz
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) August 24, 2026
Saints insider Kat Terell spoke on the current state of New Orleans’ RB room: “Saints RB room is dangerously thin right now due to injuries.”
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Las Vegas Raiders blogger Just Blog Baby joked how the trade was pretty random and the Saints a reunion of their own, “Most random trade I’ve ever seen… Another change of scenery for White, reuniting with Tyree Wilson!”
Most random trade I’ve ever seen…
Another change of scenery for White, reuniting with Tyree Wilson! https://t.co/SZsA5gdPlP
— Just Blog Baby (@JustBlogBaby) August 24, 2026
Dallas Cowboys content creator Tom Downey joked about the fact both the players in the trade were recently signed by their respective teams, “Hilarious trade when you realize both guys had been with their teams for less a month combined”.
Fantasy Football content creator OTL used a common joke on social media: “One of the trades of all time.”
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NFL analyst Jason McIntyre thinks the Kamara injury may be worse than expected. He asked, “Guess that Kamara injury is pretty bad?”
Guess that Kamara injury is pretty bad? https://t.co/iydP45R4p4
— Jason McIntyre (@jasonrmcintyre) August 24, 2026
Last season, Kamara finished 55th in PFN’s RB Impact Metric with an impact score of 63.3 and played only 11 games, but White has never really seen the field to the degree Kamara has. This trade by the Saints will be more about the depth behind Kamara than about his short-term substitute.
No matter what, this is a low-risk trade for both teams, getting some positional help for extremely cheap.
