AP

Darren Sproles does not want to be traded.

Sproles, the running back and return man whom the Saints are shopping around the league, told Josina Anderson of ESPN that if he has no future in New Orleans, he wants the team to cut him.

“I want to get released,” Sproles said. “I don’t want to be traded. I don’t know where they would send me because I have no control over it and I want to be able to pick. The good thing is none of the teams I’m told they’re talking to are terrible. It’s more than two. I feel I should have more of an idea later on today.”

It’s easy to see why Sproles would feel that way: You’d always rather control your own fate, and potentially negotiate a pay raise, than have someone else determine your future for you. But the reality is that the Saints are reportedly fielding several offers for Sproles, and they’d be fools not to get some compensation for Sproles if they can.

If Sproles is adamantly opposed to a trade, he could threaten to retire if the Saints trade him somewhere he doesn’t want to go. That might scare some teams off. But the most likely scenario is that the Saints trade Sproles to the team that offers them the best deal, and that Sproles ends up playing for that team, even if it’s a team that wouldn’t have been his top choice.