Alvin Kamara didn’t specifically address his plans for next season during an interview on Terron Armstead’s podcast The Set, but the running back sounds like he wants to play for the Saints this season.
The Saints signed running back Travis Etienne to a four-year, $52 million deal in free agency.
“I think a lot of people be thinking there’s a beef or something when moves like this happen,” Kamara said. “It’s like, shoot, I couldn’t be happier. One, my boy got paid, and two, ain’t nothing but some help in the backfield. That’s the name of the game. One person can’t do it by themselves. I’m cool with it. Whichever direction that we can take it, I’m with it. I haven’t had too much a chance to talk to him, but definitely excited that he’s got a fleur-de-lis on his helmet, and he got paid.”
The Saints tweaked Kamara’s contract earlier this offseason making it easier to trade him or release him after June 1. That is what has prompted speculation about Kamara’s future, with the Saints committing only to the fact that Kamara is currently on the roster.
Kamara is scheduled to count $10.45 million against the salary cap.
He might have to take a pay cut to stay with the team that drafted him in 2017, but it sounds like a 10th season in New Orleans is what he wants.
Kamara said he watched Etienne in Jacksonville and is “excited to see what we can do together.”
Kamara and Mark Ingram formed a potent one-two punch for four seasons. In 2017-18, they combined for 3,380 rushing yards and 40 rushing touchdowns.
“I think that’s what we trying to find. Me and Mark set the bar very high. That’s what efficiency looks like on a very high level,” Kamara said. “I’m 100 percent for it. If that’s what direction we’re going in, I’m with it. I think we can get there.”
Saints Clips
The Cowboys traded up one spot before taking safety Caleb Downs in the first round of this year’s draft, but that deal only came after an attempt to move even higher was rebuffed.
A clip from ESPN’s The Pick Is In shows Browns general manger Andrew Berry fielding a call from Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones while on the clock at No. 9. Berry turned down Dallas’s offer of their No. 12 and No. 20 picks for No. 9 and No. 24, and he did not change his mind when Jones offered to add a fifth-round pick to the offer.
The offer suggests the Cowboys thought that the Giants were going to take Downs at No. 10 as that was a frequent link during the mock draft season. The Giants wound up taking tackle Francis Mauigoa and the Cowboys wound up sending two fifth-rounders to the Dolphins to move up to No. 11 for Downs. They later traded down three spots from No, 20 and picked up two fourth-round picks.
The Browns took tackle Spencer Fano at No. 9 and another clip from the show features Berry talking to the Browns’ draft room after they traded down from No. 6 into that spot. He said Fano, Mauigoa and wide receiver Jordyn Tyson were the players the team was considering at No. 9 and Tyson went to New Orleans at No. 8, so another move down may have left them without all of their preferred options with their first of two first-round picks.
The Saints signed cornerback Martin Emerson as a free agent this week and Emerson should be ready to hit the ground running for his new team.
Emerson tore his Achilles while at training camp with the Browns last summer and missed the entire season. Emerson told reporters at a Thursday press conference that he has been fully cleared to return to physical activity and should be practicing without restrictions at training camp this summer.
Emerson was a Browns third-round pick in 2022 and he spent most of his time in Cleveland as a starter. He had 80 tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery while playing in every game in 2024.
Kool-Aid McKinstry, Quincy Riley, Isaac Yiadom, Rezjohn Wright, and seventh-round pick TJ Hall are also on the cornerback depth chart in New Orleans.
The Saints have announced the signings of cornerback Martin Emerson and linebacker Anfernee Jennings.
Emerson visited with the team on Tuesday and NFL reporter Josina Anderson reported on an agreement before the Saints officially announced the move. The team’s plan to Jennings was reported over the weekend.
Emerson missed last season with a torn Achilles. The 2022 third-round pick had 204 tackles, four interceptions, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in 51 games for the Browns.
Jennings had 233 tackles, 9.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in 79 appearances for the Patriots. He entered the league as a 2020 third-rounder.
Trade chatter swirled around Kayvon Thibodeaux leading up to and during the draft, but no deal came together and the edge rusher remains with the Giants.
The in-draft chatter came ahead of the second round last Friday when there was a report that the Giants and Saints had discussed a deal. Giants General Manager Joe Schoen said that the team had “not had any conversations” about trading Thibodeaux that day, but another report indicates that there were some conversations.
Dan Duggan of TheAthletic.com reports that the Giants were looking for a second-round pick in return for moving Thibodeaux while the Saints’ best offer was believed to be a fourth-rounder. New Orleans ultimately traded a fifth-round pick to the Raiders for Tyree Wilson in order to address their desire for help on the edge.
The Giants took Arvell Reese with the fifth overall pick and they’ve faced questions about how they’ll line up on defense with Reese, Thibodeaux, Brian Burns and Abdul Carter all on the roster. With Thibodeaux staying put, that will be something for the team to work out over the coming months.
The Saints are meeting with a potential addition to their secondary on Tuesday.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that free agent cornerback Martin Emerson is visiting the team.
Emerson was a 2022 third-round pick by the Browns and he missed the 2025 season after tearing his Achilles during training camp. He started 34 of the 51 regular season and playoff games he played while in Cleveland.
Emerson had 204 tackles, four interceptions, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in that action.
The Saints drafted defensive backs Lorenzo Styles and TJ Hall. Kool-Aid McKinstry, Quincy Riley, and Isaac Yiadom are their top returning corners.
The Saints made space for rookie additions to the roster by parting ways with three veteran players on Monday.
In addition to the previously reported cut of wide receiver Samori Toure, the Saints also announced that they have waived running back Evan Hull and wide receiver Elijah Cooks.
Hull ran 19 times for 48 yards and caught one pass for six yards in six appearances last season. The Saints now have Travis Etienne, Alvin Kamara, Ty Chandler, Devin Neal, Kendre Miller, Audric Estime, and CJ Donaldson in their backfield.
Cooks spent time on the practice squad in New Orleans last season. He had three catches for 38 yards in 11 games for the Jaguars in 2023 and 2024.
The Saints drafted Jordyn Tyson with the eighth overall pick and added Bryce Lance and Barion Brown to the receiver group later in the draft.
Edge rusher Tyree Wilson wouldn’t mind following in new Saints teammate Chase Young’s footsteps.
Young was the second pick in the 2020 draft and had a strong rookie year in Washington, but injuries sidetracked him and helped lead to a trade that sent him to the 49ers in 2023. He moved on to New Orleans in 2024 and has posted 15.5 sacks to reverse the trajectory of his career over the last two seasons.
Wilson joined the Saints in a trade with the Raiders during the draft and the seventh overall pick in 2023 didn’t quite meet expectations during his three seasons in Las Vegas. Wilson said at a Monday press conference that he sees Young as “another role model by my side, somebody that can boost my game and learn things from” as he tries to make “the best of his opportunity” with his new team.
“It’s a blessing to be a high first-round pick, but you’re always going to have the label,” Wilson said, via the team’s website. “They look at you as the franchise guy. From the outside looking in, the fans want you ready immediately. But it always doesn’t work out that way. Everybody’s timetable in the NFL is different. But I’m glad I’m here, I’m glad for the fresh start and I’m ready to dominate on the field. I feel like my game has taken a big leap from the first few years and it’s continually going up. Stats don’t make everything, but a lot of people look at stats. I’m here to play great defense and be a great teammate, and the rest of the stuff will follow.”
The Saints aren’t picking up Wilson’s fifth-year option, so he’ll have a chance to audition for the entire league with the Saints. Young used that opportunity to land a three-year deal before last season and a repeat would likely be a welcome outcome for all involved.
After drafting three receivers over the weekend, the Saints are moving on from one who was already on their roster.
Per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, New Orleans is releasing Samori Toure.
Toure, 28, joined the Saints’ practice squad last November and appeared in the team’s season-ending loss to the Falcons. He stuck with the club on a futures deal.
A Packers seventh-round pick in 2022, Toure has appeared in 23 career games with two starts, recording 14 catches for 163 yards with one touchdown.
New Orleans added receivers Jordyn Tyson at No. 8 overall, Bryce Lance at No. 136 overall, and Barion Brown at No. 190 overall in the 2026 draft.
Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis said last week that the results of the draft could factor into whether defensive end Cam Jordan returned to the team in 2026, but a couple of moves involving veterans might have more of an impact.
The Saints traded for Tyree Wilson during the draft and signed Anfernee Jennings on Sunday, which gave them two more pieces on the defensive front and could leave little room for Jordan to return for a 16th season. Jordan said on Sunday that he’d like things to work out and doesn’t think the team has replaced him, but understands that he may have reached the end of the road with the Saints.
“I don’t know,” Jordan said, via Matthew Paras of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “There’s nobody who produced the way I did last year, so. My talent speaks for itself. And if things work out, phenomenal. I’ve always said I understand the business side to it, so I’ve never worried about it.”
The end of the draft gives all 32 teams a better idea of where things stand on the roster front, so Jordan could find doors open elsewhere if the ones in New Orleans have actually closed.
