Alvin Kamara has played long enough to hear his own numbers read back to him, and on Wednesday in France he had a joke ready. Asked what it means to be one of six players in NFL history with 5,000 rushing yards and 5,000 receiving yards, the New Orleans Saints running back pointed down the table at Cameron Jordan. “It means I’m almost as old as Cam,” Kamara said.
He got there on Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Kamara needed 11 receiving yards going into the game against the New York Giants, and his first catch of the day, a short pass from Tyler Shough that he turned into a 31-yard touchdown early in the third quarter, put him over the line. He had 7,336 career rushing yards going into the game. The 34-27 win snapped a three-game losing streak, and the 2-4 Saints flew to Paris the next day for Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Stade de France, the first regular-season NFL game played in France.
Kamara, Jordan, Shough, Chris Olave, Chase Young and Erik McCoy took questions together after the Saints’ first full practice of the trip on Wednesday. The team posted the full session on its YouTube channel.
“You don’t really stop to think about the numbers”
Kamara now sits alongside Hall of Famers Lenny Moore, Marcus Allen and Marshall Faulk, plus Tiki Barber and Christian McCaffrey, as the only players to reach both marks. After the joke, he said the milestone had made him look back.
“I was having a conversation with one of my friends yesterday, and I was telling them that you play this game long enough that you start breaking records like this, and you don’t really stop to think about the numbers and the touchdowns, the catches, sacks, whatever it may be, until somebody said something to you,” Kamara said. “And then you start thinking back to games and years and reps. We are blessed to be in this position. It’s amazing to still be doing it and still be feeling good. So, yeah, I’m just thankful.”
McCoy and Shough were asked what they think when the ball reaches Kamara in space, as it did on the touchdown. “I think through his career he’s proven he’s an extremely talented back,” said McCoy, the Saints’ center. “And for me, it’s like I got to get on my horse to try to make a block, even though I’m not going to catch up. But I can make it look good at least.”
Shough said the Giants had sent pressure off the edge on the play. “To be honest, a good play there is three or four yards, and he turns that into a touchdown,” he said. “That’s kind of the name of the game: how do we limit those negative plays, and getting the ball to Alvin and getting the ball to Chris in space is part of that. And they make the rest.”
“We’ll always have that to brag about”
Kamara said everyone he had asked about the Stade de France gave him the same first answer: it is probably the nicest stadium they have. He wants something more than the scenery out of Sunday.
“It’s the first NFL game being played in France, so it’s an opportunity for all of us. I want to win,” he said. “We’ll always have that to brag about, that we won the first NFL game played in France. And then we’ll be a part of history.” He mentioned the rugby final and the other big games played at the stadium, and said he wants the next teams to come through Paris to hear that the Saints won there.
Shough has already been inside the building. He visited the Stade de France a few months ago, and he said the locker room was the part that stuck with him. “You see all the French national players, Pogba, Mbappé, all these guys that are just historic, and the history of what’s been played there in the rugby,” he said. “Being a part of that kind of gives you chills.” Once the game starts, he said, a quarterback is mostly looking for the play clock and the game clock.
Shough said he does not have a Paris routine yet, since this is only his second visit. He has enjoyed seeing the same driver and some familiar faces again and trying new food spots, “but from this point forward, we’re kind of business mode right now.”
Jordan on flag football and the 2-4 start
Jordan spent part of the team’s off day coaching a youth flag football session in front of the Eiffel Tower. His own children play flag football now, and he called the setting a “legendary backdrop, not going to lie.” Some of the French kids challenged him to a race. “I said, ‘No, brother, I just got done with the game,’” Jordan said. He said the young players already talk about flag football as a way to get noticed, and some of them dream about the Olympics. “That’s an awesome dream,” he said.
Asked about the Saints’ season, Jordan said: “Adverse situations only create monsters. You either back down and accept where you are or you fight back like our team has done the whole season.” He said the defense knows its job. “As a defense, we’ve got to create more turnovers. So as you see that turnover differential change for us, you see more wins.”
He also credited the team’s travel plan, which brought the players to France on Monday morning. If he had been asked to practice that first day, “it wouldn’t have happened,” Jordan said. “I would have been out there just looking like a jellyfish or something.” After a good night’s sleep, he said, he could already imagine how he would feel by Sunday.
Olave on protecting his head
Olave, who has had several concussions in his career, was asked about wearing a padded Guardian Cap over his helmet in games and whether he hopes to inspire younger players. “I wouldn’t say inspiration,” he said. “With all my head injuries in the past, I just wanted to be safe and put it out at the forefront of the game.” He said he wears it for his children. “I just try to put it on for my kids and try to protect my brain in the future.”
When the conversation moved to the 2028 Olympics, where flag football makes its debut, Olave said he would take the chance if it came. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he said. “So if the opportunity comes, I’ll probably go over and do that.”
A French-speaking recruit and a PSG jersey
Kamara was also asked about David Gabriel Georges, the five-star running back from Quebec who committed to Tennessee, Kamara’s old school, in July. Kamara spent time with him and his family during the recruitment, and Gabriel Georges came to the Saints’ Monday night game against Atlanta. “He’s explosive, strong, instinctive,” Kamara said. “I told him, I was like, you could play right now probably.” He added that the high school senior tracks his macros and his sleep. “When I was in high school, I was nothing close to doing what he was doing,” Kamara said. “So I hope you’re better than me.”
Two nights after several of them watched Paris Saint-Germain beat Barcelona 4-2 at the Parc des Princes, the PSG jerseys were still a talking point. “It was electric,” Kamara said of the atmosphere. “The chants, non-stop, the whole game, it was crazy. I’d be annoyed if I was playing.” Young, given 20 seconds to sell French fans on the Saints, let the reporter count down to three before answering: “We have fun, and we have a great culture.”
The Saints practice outside Paris through the week and hold their walk-through at the Stade de France on Saturday. Kickoff against the 4-2 Steelers is Sunday, October 25, at 9:30 a.m. ET (2:30 p.m. in Paris, 4:30 p.m. in Cairo). New Orleans has its bye the following week.
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