from Fox8 Sports this is the overtime podcast from the Fox8 studios in New Orleans this is the Fox 8 overtime podcast I'm your host shanan rotten shotgun as he does each and every podcast is Andre Johnson Jun do not forget the Jr on the end of his name it's very important before we get into today's content be sure to like share rate and review if you're watching us on YouTube hit that subscribe button to get the Bell notification for when we drop that fire your content and look man today we're at Wednesday hump day but I don't know I got in a really good mood today because uh it's raining outside I hated that uh but it is game week and I don't know I being out the facility today it's like new week really starts when you get to that Wednesday the Monday was kind of the bonus day but Wednesday you get the first injury report you get you know you're into the the the the EB and flow of the matchup and it is here and I am excited everyone out of saints Camp seems to be excited and curious and uh they're anticipating uh what is to come Sunday and inside the Dome against the Carolina Panthers but um there are other things happening within the organization and um that's where we're going to go with the big picture today because it involves one of the Saints star players who figures to factor in uh a lot in this matchup against Carolina and really all season so it it it fits in perfectly because it fits in perfectly as a big picture topic but also as a game day topic of course we are talking about one Alvin camra yeah you know it's very rare that the worlds of sports and real estate Collide but that's what's going on right now because recently Saints running back Alvin chra put his house up for sale now we all know Alvin chra is heading into that last uh year of his contract there was a big contract dispute between AK and the saints that caused him to leave the last day of mini camp he was at training camp in California for all four weeks they were out there he will be there for week one against the Panthers so Sean what did you really make of the news that AK has this house on the market first off uh I'll let y'all in on a little secret you know this and well a fair amount of people know this um Alvin and I are neighbors we happen to live in the the same neighborhood so first things first the neighborhood group me blew up I'm not going to give up too much information about the specifics of the neighborhood we live in but the neighborhood group me blew up when the news uh dropped that Alvin CRA put his house for sale all I'll say is this it is a gorgeous beautiful house I think he wants what 2.7 million for it all right so look more power to you but here's the deal Optics are Optics we understand that and we know the dude does not have a guaranteed contract for 2025 so on the surface he's going into the final year of his contract with the New Orleans Saints lo and behold he is selling his house like I've always said with Alvin camra just covering him being around him for the last eight years um he's got a little bit of mystery to him you know you never quite know what Alvin's thinking he had a nice Q&A with us Monday where he was pretty open upfront and honest but then we get to the real estate stuff and he's talking about look I mean there a chance to move in uh with someone else and um you know he's got real estate properties across the city all true all true um is there an underlying Factor here um that it's just a real estate investment and he's got an opportunity to make some money off of his house that's certainly possible and again Alvin's like that he could just want yeah you know I'm GNA sell my house today he's like that but the reality is simply this as I just said he's going into the final year of his contract in New Orleans so who knows it could be a real estate investment a real estate thing uh it could be I'm trying to get out of this financial commitment because I ain't going to be here much longer yep it could be that um you can you know the the the sound bites are all over the place so you can you can read or or I would probably listen uh to to what he said just to make your own sound judgment but it is what it is there's always a gray area there but my response to it is frankly this who cares yeah who cares um honestly it means nothing for 2024 and so much in this organization is riding on 2024 Alvin Dennis Derek Carr I mean guys like tames Hill Cam Jordan Demario Davis I mean so much is built into the present I don't care what Alvin camra's future plans are outside of 2024 all that matters is the 2024 season which leads me to this I have not picked up on any situation where I felt like he was disgruntled I felt like he had a really good camp felt like he was open with us when he spoke the first day of training camp uh he had the little back issue kind of dealing with myself right now uh and missed a couple of practices in C California but came back to practice when they got back to New Orleans so any sort of feeling of you know I'm checking out or I'm holding in not the case at least in my opinion so um even if he is disgruntled which I don't think he is or if he's just kind of holding his his anger because um they aren't close to any sort of contract agreement something that you know he said in that in that uh Q&A or in that press conference with us that he doesn't really want to talk about it throughout the season totally fine totally fair even if they don't reach an agreement and none is coming and he owes that or maybe one is coming and he knows that whatever the case may be it's absolutely 100% in Alvin cra's best interest to have a good great season in 2024 for the Saints of course but for himself even more so if he's already starting to look at uh situations that go beyond New Orleans in 2024 that's the only way camra who will turn 30 next year will come close to any any type of legitimate guaranteed money for 2025 and who knows maybe Beyond we broke down some numbers a couple podcasts back about you know Derrik hry who at one point in time was the best back in the NFL he got two years 16 million old is he 30 right now 31 he's 30 years old resume is resume so at one Point Derk hry was the best back in football that's what he got at the age of 30 without a good season or a great season AK may not even get that he whether here or somewhere else so he's motivated and rightfully so because if that's what he is seeking uh some more financial commitment or some more financial stability uh Beyond this year then I think obviously uh I don't think I know it's in his best interest to have a great season this year because if he doesn't he's a 30-year-old back coming off a subpar season what's he going to get then on the open Mark we discussed this I mean what's he going to get on the open market then so that's why I am not worried about Alvin CRA if he's mad or if he's upset or if he's disgruntled which I don't really think he is but if he has a little bit of that I'm not because the best way to solve that is to go out and have a great season if he goes out and have has a great season that equals more money for him and if he's having a great season that equals more wins for the Saints the ultimate win-win so I think the Saints have actually played this pretty well and who knows maybe if he's on fire and it's and he's still got some legs left and it's for sure that this guy's got at least one more year in him maybe they get something done in the middle of the Season that always happens they always say I'm not going to talk about till after the season but look people are talking behind the scenes so I think it's in his best interest and lucky for him he's in a system now that's going to highlight his strengths it's going to be a run first off offense with a coordinator that loves that typee of skill set we've already made the Christian mcaffrey comparison Christian mcaffry head you ready for it, 1459 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns last year 67 catches 564 yards and seven touchdowns is that something I can interest you in I mean could I interest you in that because that is ak's numbers this year he has something close to that oh he's getting paid next year oh yeah he's getting paid 30 or not so what do I think of the real estate issue there is no issue man that this is we live in we live in a free country you can sell your house if you want to uh he plays for new Oran Saints in 2024 he's going to be very well compensated in 2024 at top four or five paid back in the NFL in 2024 so Alvin go get your money with your real estate Alvin go earn your money by playing good on the field in 2024 not just good but great and the Saints have your best player motivated playing his best and you get more wins in 2024 and we are about 2025 when the time comes I don't care if Alvin CRA is living in New Orleans met the West Bank rosale I don't care if he's commuting from beluxe if Alvin CRA shows up on Sunday and performs that's really all that matters because you touched on it this is a huge year that could make or break careers for several people on the roster you could start at the top and say Dennis Allen worst case scenario if the Saints have a losing season this year does Dennis Allen come back maybe not Derek Carr we touched on it in the last podcast if the Saints offense looks bad this year this may be the last season that we view Derek car as a starting quarterback in the NFL Alvin chimra when Clint kubak came here he built his offense around Alvin chimra and his skill set if Alvin chra coming off two years that were comparing him to the level that he played at previously down years for camra and he has a third one in a row who's building their offense around a 30y old Alvin Camero right nobody Jawan Johnson we look at Jawan Johnson as the same starting tight end if Jawan Johnson has another down year is anybody looking at him as a starting tight end you've got Tyron Matthew de Mario Davis and Cam Jordan on the defense who were a lot closer to the end of their career than they are the middle the prime or the beginning of their career so this season has a lot writing on it for a lot of players on this roster so yeah I'm not really worried about where Alvin chra is as long as he shows up and produces and like you mentioned I'm very excited to see him in this offense because it seems seems like he's going to get a lot of usage we kind of talked about leverage a lot when we were talking about the situation with the contract and I think this is his chance to build that leverage the Saints do not have a younger running we thought maybe kendre Miller could come in and do something kendre Miller might be the biggest question mark on this team there's no young running back right now that can come in and play an AK role there's nobody on the team with an Alvin CRA skill set except maybe TM Hill who can do whatever he wants to do M so Alvin CRA has the opportunity to come out here and prove not just to the Saints but to teams around the league that he still got it if you can put him in the right system in the right situation this system probably could be the best thing that happened to AK since heck the Drew Brees days considering the systems that he's been running the last few years so yeah AK comes out he balls I can see him getting a Derek Henry similar deal two years 16 million and honestly that he now that he's kind of spoke about a little bit it feels like he's pretty realistic about the number he's going to get after this year like in terms of like he's not going to get mcaffrey money what what did mcaffry like the 19 million a year thing kind of an extension rolled into something but you averaged out to 19 million uh sounds like more he wanted some guaranteed money for next year you know rightfully so but the Saints have him under contract for this year and and technically next year as well um and he's a guy that's you know getting closer to the age of 30 look it is what it is this is all business here I mean the Saints are playing their card a AK is goingon to play his card and you know like I said in 2024 he's well paid and obviously no one likes to beat on a quote unquote last year their deal but some people have to do it in the NFL and like I said technically it's not but there's there's no guaranteed money obviously uh in 2025 so to me you're talking about a guy that's motivated or should be motivated uh it's a new system there's a lot riding on I mean like you said this think about how many people could be playing their last season as New Orleans in 2024 this year I mean there's a lot probably double there's a lot so it's in everyone's best interest to just play their butts off and where about 2025 and 2025 I think that's just the ultimate way uh it's going to go for Alvin CRA uh and the Saints now I I in saying that I'm just I'm so curious excited call it I I'm anticipating what it's going to look like what is it going to look like I did a film study you'll see on game plan tonight you know they run that wide Zone on that 16 play Drive uh where it end up being taste and getting touchdown but they ran the wide Zone on two distinct plays out of two different two different formations and personel groupings and it it got the the result that it wanted so I'm just I'm so curious to how it's going to look and I mean Alvin CRA to me he's borderline right on the top 10 status good day you know right now he's he's somewhere between six and 10 um I thought there were times over the last three years there was frustration had set it in and he kind of trickled back a little bit um but name another player right now on the Ros you can make a case is top 10 at his position around the NFL and camarra the Mario Davis the only one de Mario Davis and Latimore is a slippery slip because if he get does the injury thing that could be a problem right um You can probably put Tyron in there um ta's his own position who else uh Chase young hasn't has the opportunity but that's obviously got to be proven so he's got there's not there's a long way of saying like he he's a great player he's going to be in a system that that helps him and hopefully it's motivation for him to go out and play well because honestly it's the only way he's going to get eventually what he ultimately wants which is more money in 2025 or Alvin just be Alvin be like you know what I'm done I'm retiring after this the 2024 season I've had enough going to mess with NASCAR and real estate and design and all that stuff but um I think that's where things real realistically stand with Alvin CRA as they start another season I agree and I mean if there's any system that AK can succeed in and put those numbers that you talked about earlier up in it's this one it's a system where we've seen similar running backs like Alvin Camaro thriving it's a system where creativity is going to be at the core of it you're going to see AK one run a lot of wheel routes Texas routes be in motion do things that we haven't seen him do in years because Pete carmichel was calling the play so I'm very excited he's going to get 15 20 touches a game minimum simply because you don't have a lot of options outside of them even if you want to throw in Jamal Williams maybe for go Line work like Detroit used them in or Jordan Mims for the occasional carry none of them can catch and run routes like AK so AK is gonna get a lot of action and I'm not being dramatic when I say the success that the Saints have this year is tied into Alvin chimra because Derek Carr is going to look a lot better if that running game is working no doubt dere Carr works best off of play action you know when play action works well when you can run the ball the football offensive line if they're helping AK that means we're doing a good job the defense we both think the defense can be top 10 minimum this year but for that offense to succeed and be the top 10 offense that Drew Brees told us he believes it could be a few months ago it's all going to revolve around Alvin chamra and running the ball I think we covered all our bases with AK I mean that's really I mean we've talked so much about this season and the story lines in every aspect of the main players the star players the every every sort of like sub story over the big story like it's time to play man it's just so time to play and in saying that you know it is Wednesday so you get your first practice report that's when it just feels real and once this once this first week goes man does it really go um so I'll just read it off um Pete Werner was a full participant Willie gay limited that's good that's really good he had a back issue uh Marsha Latimore limited hip Nick selda very limited that's good I mean he he's been out for a while and then Jaylen Ford d DeMarco Jackson and Colin Saunders all did not practice so four dmps I think D Hulker potentially not playing could be a maybe an interesting development there just because I they don't have a whole lot of bodies at tight end so they might have to bring someone up from the practice squad and then for Carolina uh is it Neiman USA Neiman yosa Neiman limited miles Sanders limited Ian Thomas tight end did not practice Tommy Trimble back hamstring did not practice so way we go my friend uh we'll be back on Friday but I am I'm just ready man I am just so ready for this thing to get going I'm so excited I mean Dennis Allen said it's like Christmas morning being a kid and wanting to open up your presents Cam Jordan said he feels like a little kid again like this is the happiest that you're going to be is going into the season you've been hitting your own guys for a month you've been going through all the training camp and the preseason you've been away from home you've been working on this shiny new offense that's unlike anything a lot of these players have run at least recently and I think everybody's just excited to get out there and see it Saints fans especially since training camp wasn't here they've heard about the Clint kubc offense and that the creativity they've been asking for for years they've heard a lot about it but they really haven't gotten to see a lot of it because in the preseason obviously you're keeping things very vanel so I think that there's just so much excitement around the city for this first game it's against a very beatable team in the Carolina Panthers so and I'm ready to get to the Dome on Sunday and see it Sunday can't get here quick enough we also have high school sports on Friday that season open they they opened up a week later this year because the way the Labor Day fell kind of early so uh fox day football Friday is Friday night of course you know LSU tlane local college teams on Saturday and the Saints open up on Sunday football's here folks the complete picture starts this weekend anything else for us today I'm good Andre Johnson Jr is good I'm good hopefully you are good I'm ready for some Saints football but for Andre Johnson Jr I am Sean fisan we'll catch you guys next time on overtime