The second of three organized team activities is in the books for the New Orleans Saints, and this week’s edition included a surprise guest in running back Alvin Kamara.
This has been an interesting offseason for the Saints star, who is coming off his worst season as a professional. New Orleans signed running back Travis Etienne to a big contract in the early stages of free agency, then proceeded to further muddy the waters surrounding Kamara’s status with the team by refusing on multiple occasions to state that he would be part of the team in 2026.
From Kamara’s vantage point, everything had been all quiet until Wednesday, when he showed up for the voluntary workout with the rest of the squad. This alone was newsworthy, as it had been years since Kamara participated in any of the Saints’ voluntary offseason work.
His participation Wednesday felt like a tacit acknowledgement of all that has transpired this offseason, even if he declined to add any fuel to the speculation when speaking with reporters after practice.
Kamara said he flew from Miami to New Orleans late Tuesday night. He went through light work with his teammates Wednesday, taking second-team reps during the walk-through period and going through drills with the rest of the running backs during some individual position periods.
It is definitely too early to say there has been any sort of resolution between the two sides, but Kamara making an appearance this week does at least feel like the start of something.
Onto the observations.
Attendance
The following players were not seen during the open practice viewing period: running back Kendre Miller, wide receiver Chris Olave, defensive lineman Zxavian Harris, defensive lineman Nathan Shepherd and defensive end Chase Young.
The following players attended practice but did not participate in anything outside of walk-through: wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, defensive lineman Christen Miller and tight end Oscar Delp.
Shough starts strong
Let’s get the caveat out of the way: These are spring workouts and therefore are not necessarily indicative of anything that will happen from here on out. The Saints practiced without pads, and the most competitive thing they did was a pair of 7-on-7 periods.
That being said, Tyler Shough made some impressive throws in those limited competitive settings — the sort of throws that show the strides he’s made since his rookie season ended.
Last year around this time, Shough had the look of a player who was trying to play within the structure of an offense that did not want him to do too much. There were a lot of check-downs, even in 7-on-7 periods, in which Shough was taking the easy outlet rather than attacking the defense.
That was not the case Wednesday, when Shough pushed the ball downfield to his targets. Working without his presumptive top two wideouts — Olave and Tyson — Shough still made several big completions downfield in his 10 competitive reps.
His best throw came when he found Ja’Lynn Polk streaking near the right hash mark about 20 yards down the field on a deep over route. Shough quickly worked through his progression on the play and hit Polk in rhythm for a big gain. On the next play, Shough hit Kevin Austin in almost the exact same spot after a scramble drill for another big gain.
In all, Shough completed six passes, with four of them coming in the intermediate part of the field. The only true deep shot he attempted landed just out of the reach of receiver Bub Means.
Odds and ends
Defensive back Martin Emerson secured the lone turnover of the day when he intercepted a Spencer Rattler pass intended for Bryce Lance. The interception came on a batted ball and Emerson was in the right spot to make the play.
Emerson signed with the Saints in late April, and he is an intriguing player in the defensive backfield. He’s 6-foot-2 and 201 pounds and started 33 NFL games. If he can bounce back from an Achilles injury that cost him all of last year, he could play some meaningful football in New Orleans.
Speaking of Lance, he had the biggest play of the day when he beat the defensive back across from him with a double move before hauling in a deep touchdown from third-string quarterback Zach Wilson. That is precisely what the Saints want to see out of the speedy fourth-round pass catcher.
Devaughn Vele didn’t have a ton of action as a receiver Wednesday — he caught one of his two targets — but, interestingly, he did see the field as a holder for kicks. That role presumably will belong to punter Ryan Wright, but with Wright not present, Vele handled those duties.