The New Orleans Saints will officially be without star running back Alvin Kamara at the start of the 2023 season. Kamara was handed a three-game suspension for his role in an incident during Pro Bowl weekend in 2022, which violated the league’s personal-conduct policy.

He issued a statement for the first time on the incident this past weekend and is looking to move forward. But, we won’t see him on the field with the Saints until Week 4, meaning he will miss games against the Tennessee Titans, Carolina Panthers and Green Bay Packers.

In his absence, the Saints will turn their backfield over to free agent signing Jamaal Williams and third-round pick, Kendre Miller out of TCU. Dwayne Washington remains on the roster as well and could open the season as the No. 3 option in the backfield.

That is unless the Saints opt to make a move in the backfield. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, there is certainly a possibility that they do. Fowler has reported that the team is hosting free agent running back Kareem Hunt on a visit in New Orleans.

Hunt has spent the last four seasons with the Cleveland Browns as a complementary piece to Nick Chubb. He excelled as the pass-catching back in Cleveland but is coming off the least productive season of his career. Despite playing in all 17 games, he struggled to get going.

Landing with the Saints would provide Hunt with a chance to get his career back on track. Without Kamara, there is a clear need for a pass-catching back in New Orleans, a void Hunt could certainly fill.

If the need arose, Hunt could also handle lead-back duties. He led the NFL with 1,327 rushing yards as a rookie with the Kansas City Chiefs and saw his career derailed when a video surfaced of him striking a woman. 

That led to an eight-game suspension by the league and being released by the Chiefs. The Browns picked him up after that and he is hopeful that the Saints could be his next landing spot.