-
Katherine Terrell
METARIE, La. — New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara said he has gotten used to being the subject of trade rumors during his career, but his stance still hasn’t changed.
Kamara said Thursday that he wants to stay in New Orleans.
Kamara was asked about an NFL Network report that said Saints general manager Mickey Loomis approached him after he received interest from other teams. The report said Loomis asked Kamara if there was anywhere he would like to go.
“Yeah, I don’t know where that [came from]. We talked about [the report] and we was looking at each other like the little Spider-Man meme: ‘Did you say something? Did I say something?’ I don’t know where that came from, but I think I’ve been vocal enough that … I don’t want to go anywhere,” Kamara said. “And I said it countless times, y’all know that. I think everybody knows that. The fan base knows that. And at the end of the day, it’s business. So I don’t go upstairs, and I don’t have an office upstairs. I got an office in Charlotte at NASCAR, but I don’t got an office upstairs, so I don’t really sit in those meetings, and I don’t really know what happens up there.”
What would happen if the team did approach him about a trade?
“I just got to keep my head down,” Kamara said. “And I don’t know, if I was a GM, I guess I would go to the player and be like, ‘Hey, we’re trading you. Just so you know.’ So, if Mickey come downstairs and says that, then I’m going to go drink a piña colada somewhere.”
Kamara had a similar refrain last summer when he was seeking a new contract from the team and said he would like to be a Saint through the end of his career. Kamara has been with the Saints since they selected him in the third round of the 2017 draft, a season in which he earned NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.
“I want to be a Saint for a long time, for as long as my career goes,” Kamara said at the time. That’s all I’m looking for really,” Kamara said at the time.
Kamara signed an extension midway through last season that will keep him in New Orleans through the 2026 season, and $3 million of his base salary is guaranteed for 2026. Kamara turned 30 in July.
Kamara said he doesn’t know what teams he has been linked to or who needs a running back but is used to the speculation.
“I mean it’s been like that for years and it just is what it is. I’m just focused on what I’m doing. I don’t really think about it too much,” Kamara said.
Saints wide receiver Chris Olave, who has also been part of potential trade speculation, acknowledged that he knew about the chatter and chalked it up to being a natural part of the conversation that surrounds the team’s 1-5 record.
“That’s part of the business, man,” Olave said. “It’s been like that all year, in the offseason. Even right now, I ain’t really been on social media, but I know it’s cooking right now that we’re 1-5. So, there’s always rumors, the internet trying to always create some buzz. But I had a conversation with the people in the building so I’m very confident.”
Olave did not elaborate on who he spoke to in the building, saying he would prefer to keep that private.
“It is all over the internet, so they just talked to me and told me what was going on,” Olave said. “I keep that between me and [them].”
Kamara, who has been dealing with an ankle injury for the past few weeks, did not practice Wednesday but returned to practice Thursday as part of a maintenance program while he heals. He has started all six games and has carried the ball 83 times for 314 yards and a touchdown this season.
Olave, who was limited in practice Wednesday with a hip injury, has 39 catches for 342 yards and a touchdown this season.
Source link
