First off, that number belongs to newly acquired cornerback Jabari Greer. Secondly, team officials aren't convinced that James would be a significant upgrade in the group of running backs on their roster.

That group includes Reggie Bush, Pierre Thomas, Mike Bell, first-year player Lynell Hamilton and undrafted rookie free-agent running backs Herb Donaldson and P.J. Hill.

Donaldson, Hill and Hamilton will participate in the team's minicamp for rookies, first-year players and tryout players that runs Friday through Sunday.

"(James) is someone who we have discussed as an organization, just as we would with anyone of his magnitude who becomes available," Saints Coach Sean Payton said Wednesday. "Right now, he is someone that we're taking a look at, but there hasn't really been anything going on outside of that.

"In other words, it's not something that is imminent. It's not something that's going to happen; it's not something that is close to happening or even a 50-50 chance of happening. It's something that we may look at more later on, but right now we're pretty happy with our current group. The Saints are plowing ahead and moving forward with our current players.

"He's a guy who is not soon to be a Saint, that's for sure."

Payton's comments were a follow-up in response to a report posted by the NFL's Web site in which Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis said: "There's been talk about Edgerrin James, and we've spent some time evaluating that prospect. We'll continue to do that. We haven't made any decision or closed any doors on acquiring another running back if we feel that's something we need to do. We do feel a lot better about what we have in-house than people do outside of our building."

James, who has 12,121 career rushing yards, was released by Arizona last week after the team selected Ohio State running back Chris Wells in the 31st slot of the first round in the NFL draft.

James' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said the four-time Pro Bowl running back plans to continue playing and that teams are interested in the 10-year NFL veteran.

James, who turns 31 on Aug. 1, requested to be released or traded by the Cardinals on several occasions last season due to his lack of playing time.

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Brian Allee-Walsh can be reached at ballee-walsh@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3805.