Alvin Kamara sprains MCL in Cowboys-Saints joint practice, likely to miss Week 1 opener
The five-time Pro Bowl running back suffered a sprained MCL during a physical joint session in Frisco on August 18, and ESPN's Adam Schefter reports he'll miss at least a month - putting his availability for New Orleans' September 13 opener against Detroit in serious doubt.
In brief
Kamara sprains MCL in joint practice, and New Orleans' offense is already in trouble
It was supposed to be a hard-hitting but productive afternoon at The Star in Frisco. Instead, the New Orleans Saints left Dallas on Tuesday with their most experienced offensive weapon heading to the medical tent.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Wednesday morning that Saints running back Alvin Kamara is expected to be sidelined for at least the next month due to a sprained MCL. The incident took place on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, during a physical, scrimmage-style joint practice session with the Dallas Cowboys at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
During a scrimmage period, Kamara absorbed a hard hit to his knee area. The sudden nature of the contact forced him to exit the field alongside the Saints' medical staff. Although there was immediate panic that he had suffered a season-ending ACL tear, the latest update says otherwise. Tests confirmed a sprained MCL. He avoided any torn ligaments according to early reports.
Good news, relatively speaking. The rest of it is not.
New Orleans' season opener against the Lions is 25 days away, meaning Kamara is set to miss Week 1 for just the second time in his career. The Saints' Week 2 game at the Ravens is 32 days away, putting it near the early end of the reported timeline. The Saints open the season with two difficult road games, beginning September 13 at the Detroit Lions before traveling to Baltimore to face the Ravens on September 20. They then return home September 27 to host the Las Vegas Raiders. Do the math: Kamara could potentially miss all three September games if his recovery requires the full four-plus weeks reported by Schefter.
A career's worth of context
Kamara is 31. He will be entering his 10th NFL season. The veteran running back has spent his entire career with the Saints, who selected him in the third round of the 2017 draft. That pick aged extremely well. General manager Mickey Loomis has seen Kamara turn into the Saints' all-time leader in rushing attempts (1,674), yards (7,250) and touchdowns (61). The dual threat is also second in franchise history in catches (606) and fifth in receiving yards (6,569).
But the body has not cooperated lately. Kamara appeared in a career-low 11 games last year as he dealt with a knee injury. He finished with career lows in most major statistical categories, including 657 yards from scrimmage - his first time under 1,000 - and just one touchdown. He was only able to play in 11 games last season, 14 in 2024, and 13 in 2023.
This offseason, Kamara restructured to stay in New Orleans. He will play for the Saints in 2026 on a reworked contract that will pay him a base salary of $6 million this season with a chance to make up to $8.5 million with incentives. Kamara had been set to make up to $11.5 million in base salary this season, although the Saints renegotiated his contract for salary cap purposes in early March. He took less money to remain the only team he has ever played for. Now he is watching from the sideline before the regular season even starts.
Etienne steps into a different situation than advertised
The Saints brought in Travis Etienne Jr. this spring specifically to share the load. Kamara had accepted a reduced role to serve as the backup after the NFC South franchise brought in Travis Etienne to lead the backfield. In March, the Saints signed former Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. to a four-year deal worth more than $12 million per year in the first three years of the deal.
That plan was a two-back rotation. Now it is just Etienne, at least to start. Etienne will face no real competition for early touches. The Saints planned a tandem approach between the two backs. That plan shifts with Kamara's multi-week recovery. With Kamara out into the regular season, the Saints will turn to Kendre Miller and Devin Neal, among others, and could explore outside options.
Head coach Kellen Moore confirmed the knee injury after practice. Moore and company are looking to build off a 2025 season in which New Orleans won four of its final five games with Tyler Shough as the starter, but injuries are proving to be an early obstacle.
The Saints' offense has more problems than just Kamara
This is not the only fresh wound. The injury is the second significant blow to the team's offense in the past week. Last Thursday, rookie wide receiver Jordyn Tyson - the eighth overall pick in the NFL draft - strained a hamstring in a joint practice against Jacksonville. That injury is expected to sideline Tyson for nearly two months.
Audric Estime also remains sidelined. Kendre Miller and Devin Neal recently returned to practice after missing time. Additionally, cornerback Quincy Riley left the Tuesday practice early with a separate issue. The team holds another joint session, this time with the Rams, on Thursday.
Moore has been around the NFL long enough to know that preseason joint practices can turn ugly. This one did. The Saints have roughly three weeks before they have to be ready for Detroit, and right now their backfield depth chart behind Etienne consists of players who have spent much of August in the training room themselves.
Etienne's and Kamara's contracts made the running back position expensive in both cash value and cap space for the Saints, with $21 million in cap space devoted to the team's seven running backs - the most in the NFL. That investment looked sensible when both backs were healthy. With Kamara on the shelf, New Orleans is paying a premium for one functioning starter.
Kamara's surgically repaired knee and the MCL sprain next to it will determine whether he suits up for the Lions opener. His track record of healing faster than expected - Saints beat reporter Nick Underhill noted on X that "he avoided a major injury" and that it could "take a little time, but nothing super serious or threatening long-term. Hard to know how long. Alvin and his team often beat timelines." - offers some hope. But the 2026 Saints needed Kamara on the field, not rehabbing in a training facility while Etienne figures out a new offense under a first-year head coach.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
