Saints’ Alvin Kamara suspended first three games of the 2023 NFL season

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara has been suspended three regular-season games for violating the NFL‘s personal conduct policy for his role in a February 2022 altercation in Las Vegas around the time of the 2022 Pro Bowl.

Indianapolis Colts defensive back Chris Lammons, who was also involved in the incident along with Kamara, was also suspended for three regular-season games by the NFL. Kamara and Lammons recently settled their legal troubles by pleading no contest to misdemeanor charges in a deal with Las Vegas prosecutors that avoided trial and potential jail time.

Speaking after practice Friday, but before the suspension had been announced, Kamara was contrite and expressed a desire to make wiser decisions going forward.

“I never want to be involved in something where someone gets hurt or severely injured or anything,” Kamara said. “Poor judgment on my end, definitely a bad decision. I was completely wrong, embarrassed the Saints, embarrassed my family, my mother. Embarrassed myself.

“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t tough,” Kamara continued. “I’ve lost a lot throughout this ordeal. I’m definitely not looking for any pity and not looking for somebody to give me a pat on the back and say, ‘It’s OK.’ I know what I did. … I definitely take responsibility. That’s part of being a man and growing. From here, I just got to make the right decisions and make the right choices.”

The news comes shortly after Kamara was excused from training camp to meet with Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Kamara thanked Goodell for meeting with him Thursday and said his visit went well.

“I think we got accomplished what we needed to get accomplished,” Kamara said. “Happy I got a chance to do that.”

Kamara declined to go into detail about what he discussed with the commissioner. Goodell has not commented on the meeting and NFL communications staff also have declined to comment.

Before Friday, Kamara had not done any interviews since training camp began last week because he wasn’t ready to publicly revisit his trouble in Las Vegas.

“It’s hanging over you,” Kamara recounted. “Obviously, it’s self-inflicted. But nonetheless, it’s still something that’s, you know, it’s like a dark cloud. … It’s hard to kind of enjoy some of the smaller things.”

Now, Kamara said, he’s comfortable — for the first time in about a year and a half — opening up publicly about past mistakes and moving forward productively.

He said he felt like he “just had like a little boost in practice. I just felt better, like a weight was off.”

With Kamara suspended, the Saints are expected to rely heavily on Jamaal Williams, whom they signed to a three-year, $12 million contract this offseason, and rookie third-round draft pick Kendre Miller, per reports.

Kamara, a five-time Pro Bowler and former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, has spent his entire career with the Saints. Most recently, the 28-year-old signed a five-year, $75 million extension with New Orleans before the 2020 season.

He has been one of New Orleans’ most productive players as a rusher and receiver, racking up 1,135 carries for 5,135 yards, 430 catches for 3,753 yards and 72 total touchdowns over the past six regular seasons, along with 93 carries for 357 yards, 33 receptions for 274 yards and four scores in four postseasons.

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