4 contract decisions that will pay off for the New Orleans Saints

3. Signing Jamaal Williams

When the Saints' offense had Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram working together, they were tough to defend. Kamara was capable of taking the ball to the house in the blink of an eye and was especially dangerous as a receiver. Ingram brought a whole different dimension to the offense since he was capable of running between the tackles 20 times per game and was strong near the goal line.

Kamara is still there — although he has some off-field concerns that could lead to suspension — but they didn't have anyone capable of moving the chains in short-yardage situations or powering it in at the goal line the way Ingram could. That changed when they added Jamaal Williams on a three-year deal.

The total for Williams is $12 million but thanks to a couple of voided years, he's going to be very affordable early in the contract. This year, he's going to count for just $1.88 million against the cap, which is nothing when you look at what he brings to the team.

Williams is fresh off his best season as a pro after running for 1,066 yards and a league-leading 17 touchdowns for the Detroit Lions in 2022. Not only is he going to give them a similar one-two punch that they enjoyed when Ingram was there, but he's excellent insurance if Kamara is suspended. He proved he can carry the load with Detroit and if they're forced to go with Williams and rookie Kendre Miller for an extended amount of time, their ground game will be just fine.