Hear me out: The case for Austin FC signing Kei Kamara
Maybe it's not ideal to sign a 41-year-old forward who didn't score for one of MLS' best teams last season. But he could play a helpful role for Austin FC in 2026 if dropped into a supplemental roster slot.
Something that might have escaped your attention in the run-up to free agency signings on Dec. 10, as teams picked up and declined player options, is that Kei Kamara's option was declined by FC Cincinnati.
You also are aware, if you regularly read this site or follow other Austin FC media coverage, that Diego Rubio's option was declined, which takes away a forward from the Verde roster for 2026.
You also know that save for a miraculous rehab effort, forward Brandon Vázquez won't be ready for the start of the 2026 regular season. Austin FC does have Myrto Uzuni and CJ Fodrey available to play striker as the roster is currently configured, but it could certainly help the team to get some short-term striker depth to fill the hole the Rubio departure is leaving in the roster.
And, if Uzuni is rehomed to a new club during the winter window, that striker hole becomes even bigger.
I think you know where I'm going here. (Straight into the North End Podcast's "Reckless Speculation" song, perhaps, but we're in a news-free part of the offseason, so let's have some fun.)
Lucky number 13?
In case you're not familiar, Kamara is a legendary MLS iron man, second all-time on the MLS goal scorers list in part due to sheer longevity. He has 147 goals in 455 appearances, according to sites that aren't the MLS site, which is underreporting his goals on his official player page and adding new questions to its reliability.
He's had some dramatic exits from clubs along the way (including at Columbus over an infamous and controversial penalty kick decision and Montréal over a contract extension dispute that got unsettlingly public), but he's a fascinating player who figured into the Chicago Fire's 2023 Open Cup victory over Austin, and also (when with LAFC in 2024) scored a late equalizer to salvage a draw and move into a tie with Landon Donovan for second on the all-time goals list with 145, before later surpassing him.
Just for fun, here's a list of all 12 teams Kamara has played for in MLS (which doesn't even count the three other teams he's played for):
Columbus Crew (2006-07 and 2015-16)
San Jose Earthquakes (2008)
Houston Dynamo (2008-09)
Sporting Kansas City (2009-13)
New England Revolution (2016-17)
Vancouver Whitecaps (2018)
Colorado Rapids (2019-20)
Minnesota United FC (2020)
CF Montréal (2022)
Chicago Fire (2023)
LAFC (2024)
FC Cincinnati (2025)
Yes, if Austin FC were to pick him up, it would be Kamara's 13th MLS team, and Kamara will turn 42 in September. He scored in his first MLS game, playing for the Crew on April 1, 2006, against the Kansas City Wizards. Current Austin FC assistant coach Davy Arnaud also scored in that match. Owen Wolff, for perspective, was 16 months old.
Last year, Kamara failed to score a goal in nearly 800 minutes of play, only getting five shots on target, after getting three goals on 11 shots on target for LAFC the year before in a shade over 1000 minutes.
Here's what his last 365 days look like, which shows him to now be more of a help-others forward.
He's certainly well past his most productive years ... so why would sporting director Rodolfo Borrell even want this?
An unlikely-but-intriguing scenario
Let's indulge some roster-building fantasies that some Austin FC fans have been harboring, for the exercise. Let's say, to go whole hog:
Myrto Uzuni finds a team in Spain, returning his family to more European normalcy and getting his groove back in time to contribute to a feel-good Albania-in-the-World-Cup story;
Borrell uses the designated player spot Uzuni vacates to shock MLS and sign free agent Cristian Espinoza, giving Verde a reliable wide playmaker who can also score (28 goals and 40 assists in the previous four seasons, including a weird outlier 2023 when he had 13 goals and zero assists);
Borrell finds a European suitor for Owen Wolff and gets the treasure trove of GAM he's previously lacked in order to build a more strategic top-to-bottom MLS roster; and
Brings in a U22 or TAM-level central attacking midfielder (maybe it's Kervin Andrade, maybe it's some yet-unknown-to-us gem), also using the international spot Uzuni vacates (since Espinoza has domestic status) to learn, develop, and ideally flourish.
Aside from an initially awkward reunion between Espinoza and Mikkel Desler, who infamously tussled in the Open Cup knockout match this past summer, there's a lot to be excited about in this scenario ... and yet, until BV9 returns to the fold, the Opening Day starter is CJ Fodrey, who has one goal and two assists in 541 MLS minutes dating back to 2023.
Fodrey's got immense promise, and his game-winning goal against Minnesota in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal is top three in all-time Verde moments. But he's still young and largely untested, and will be shifting from a late-game closer role to a starter relied on to go at least 75 minutes in the early part of the season.
Here's what Borrell could do next:
Sign a player with 147 lifetime MLS goals, who might be eager for one last chance to arrive at a nice round 150 number (or higher), to a supplemental deal;
Let Fodrey learn from him;
Let Austin media gather quotes from him (as he's very quotable, as enigmatic as he's been at some of his stops along the way); and
By summer, when Vazquez and Fodrey are clicking and it's time for Borrell to bring in a TAM-level forward/winger in the spot vacated by a summer window deal or a buyout, move a budget-friendly Kamara to an East contender while the West vs. East playoff format is still a thing, possibly getting another international spot for some additional roster remaking (or to sell to the Revs for a profit).
Even if this doesn't happen ...
Let's say things stay largely static, and Uzuni and Wolff don't move in the offseason. Austin's still down a forward — though ideally, to replace Rubio, they'd get a forward who can also play midfield on a supplemental roster. Those players don't exactly grow on trees.
Free agency does have some interesting attacking names, including Paul Rothrock (last becoming a folk hero in Seattle, now testing the market to see if he can command $800,000 a season, and I suspect that he'll somehow find his way back to Seattle thanks to MLS' weird free agency rules), and Christian Benteke (who could theoretically find his way onto a team as a max TAM player, though maybe there's a Saudi Pro League cashgrab in his future).
But Rothrock and Benteke are high-end attacking spends for a team that's already dedicated designated player assets to its front three, and that's had to deploy Wolff (possibly moving to a U22 contract in the offseason, to take that final slot) as a winger in Vázquez's absence. Espinoza is arguably the best chance creator in free agency, but unless Uzuni (or Osman Bukari) are on the way out, it's extremely unlikely Espinoza comes over.
The only incoming transfer rumor Austin FC's fielding right now is for center back Jon Bell, most recently on a supplemental contract with Seattle. Bell appears a consummate Borrell-style low-salary roster depth glue guy, and on a supplemental, he's a good "why not" pick to replace Julio Cascante as a rotational center back, but he's obviously not solving the issue of Vázquez rehabbing his knee and being unavailable to start the season.
Kamara isn't a like-for-like replacement for Rubio, and he really only solves one problem facing Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez in 2026 with the current roster — "Which attacker do I put on in the 80th minute when Uzuni's spent and I've already subbed Fodrey for a tiring Bukari and shifted Jon Gallagher to right wing so Fodrey can play left wing?"
It's a problem that he'll specifically have in the first quarter of the season, when Austin's trying to bank early-season points against D.C. United, Real Salt Lake, a Galaxy team still getting acclimated to life with Riqui Puig, and Toronto FC. Banking early points was key to Austin's 2025 playoff qualification, and it's shaping up to be that way in 2026 as well, though there are some rough early-season segments to navigate as well. They're not quite May 2025, but they approximate that.
Admittedly, it's not the best idea, and it's possible Kamara doesn't have another MLS goal in him and it's chalked up as a failed experiment. But if it's on a low-stakes supplemental roster spot, it also might not be the worst idea.
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) wherever you get your podcasts.
Looking at what Miami's done in the playoffs, you might expect them to rack up another big scoreline in Saturday's MLS Cup final. But there's a throughline in their losses that Vancouver will want to note.
Collectively, you think Austin FC will do okay (but perhaps not great) in 2026. And the frustration you displayed about myriad things indicate you collectively wanting more winning.
A few weeks back, nearly 200 of you took a survey to gauge your feelings on Austin FC. We've got a lot of pie charts to let you know how you collectively feel.
Something that might have escaped your attention in the run-up to free agency signings on Dec. 10, as teams picked up and declined player options, is that Kei Kamara's option was declined by FC Cincinnati.
You also are aware, if you regularly read this site or follow other Austin FC media coverage, that Diego Rubio's option was declined, which takes away a forward from the Verde roster for 2026.
You also know that save for a miraculous rehab effort, forward Brandon Vázquez won't be ready for the start of the 2026 regular season. Austin FC does have Myrto Uzuni and CJ Fodrey available to play striker as the roster is currently configured, but it could certainly help the team to get some short-term striker depth to fill the hole the Rubio departure is leaving in the roster.
And, if Uzuni is rehomed to a new club during the winter window, that striker hole becomes even bigger.
I think you know where I'm going here. (Straight into the North End Podcast's "Reckless Speculation" song, perhaps, but we're in a news-free part of the offseason, so let's have some fun.)
Lucky number 13?
In case you're not familiar, Kamara is a legendary MLS iron man, second all-time on the MLS goal scorers list in part due to sheer longevity. He has 147 goals in 455 appearances, according to sites that aren't the MLS site, which is underreporting his goals on his official player page and adding new questions to its reliability.
He's had some dramatic exits from clubs along the way (including at Columbus over an infamous and controversial penalty kick decision and Montréal over a contract extension dispute that got unsettlingly public), but he's a fascinating player who figured into the Chicago Fire's 2023 Open Cup victory over Austin, and also (when with LAFC in 2024) scored a late equalizer to salvage a draw and move into a tie with Landon Donovan for second on the all-time goals list with 145, before later surpassing him.
Just for fun, here's a list of all 12 teams Kamara has played for in MLS (which doesn't even count the three other teams he's played for):
Yes, if Austin FC were to pick him up, it would be Kamara's 13th MLS team, and Kamara will turn 42 in September. He scored in his first MLS game, playing for the Crew on April 1, 2006, against the Kansas City Wizards. Current Austin FC assistant coach Davy Arnaud also scored in that match. Owen Wolff, for perspective, was 16 months old.
Last year, Kamara failed to score a goal in nearly 800 minutes of play, only getting five shots on target, after getting three goals on 11 shots on target for LAFC the year before in a shade over 1000 minutes.
Here's what his last 365 days look like, which shows him to now be more of a help-others forward.
He's certainly well past his most productive years ... so why would sporting director Rodolfo Borrell even want this?
An unlikely-but-intriguing scenario
Let's indulge some roster-building fantasies that some Austin FC fans have been harboring, for the exercise. Let's say, to go whole hog:
Aside from an initially awkward reunion between Espinoza and Mikkel Desler, who infamously tussled in the Open Cup knockout match this past summer, there's a lot to be excited about in this scenario ... and yet, until BV9 returns to the fold, the Opening Day starter is CJ Fodrey, who has one goal and two assists in 541 MLS minutes dating back to 2023.
Fodrey's got immense promise, and his game-winning goal against Minnesota in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal is top three in all-time Verde moments. But he's still young and largely untested, and will be shifting from a late-game closer role to a starter relied on to go at least 75 minutes in the early part of the season.
Here's what Borrell could do next:
Even if this doesn't happen ...
Let's say things stay largely static, and Uzuni and Wolff don't move in the offseason. Austin's still down a forward — though ideally, to replace Rubio, they'd get a forward who can also play midfield on a supplemental roster. Those players don't exactly grow on trees.
Free agency does have some interesting attacking names, including Paul Rothrock (last becoming a folk hero in Seattle, now testing the market to see if he can command $800,000 a season, and I suspect that he'll somehow find his way back to Seattle thanks to MLS' weird free agency rules), and Christian Benteke (who could theoretically find his way onto a team as a max TAM player, though maybe there's a Saudi Pro League cashgrab in his future).
But Rothrock and Benteke are high-end attacking spends for a team that's already dedicated designated player assets to its front three, and that's had to deploy Wolff (possibly moving to a U22 contract in the offseason, to take that final slot) as a winger in Vázquez's absence. Espinoza is arguably the best chance creator in free agency, but unless Uzuni (or Osman Bukari) are on the way out, it's extremely unlikely Espinoza comes over.
The only incoming transfer rumor Austin FC's fielding right now is for center back Jon Bell, most recently on a supplemental contract with Seattle. Bell appears a consummate Borrell-style low-salary roster depth glue guy, and on a supplemental, he's a good "why not" pick to replace Julio Cascante as a rotational center back, but he's obviously not solving the issue of Vázquez rehabbing his knee and being unavailable to start the season.
Kamara isn't a like-for-like replacement for Rubio, and he really only solves one problem facing Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez in 2026 with the current roster — "Which attacker do I put on in the 80th minute when Uzuni's spent and I've already subbed Fodrey for a tiring Bukari and shifted Jon Gallagher to right wing so Fodrey can play left wing?"
It's a problem that he'll specifically have in the first quarter of the season, when Austin's trying to bank early-season points against D.C. United, Real Salt Lake, a Galaxy team still getting acclimated to life with Riqui Puig, and Toronto FC. Banking early points was key to Austin's 2025 playoff qualification, and it's shaping up to be that way in 2026 as well, though there are some rough early-season segments to navigate as well. They're not quite May 2025, but they approximate that.
Admittedly, it's not the best idea, and it's possible Kamara doesn't have another MLS goal in him and it's chalked up as a failed experiment. But if it's on a low-stakes supplemental roster spot, it also might not be the worst idea.
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) wherever you get your podcasts.
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