METAIRIE, La. -- Now that it's clear Deuce McAllister will remain with the New Orleans Saints, he wants to make it clear he'll run the ball as well as he did before having surgery on both knees last season.

Earlier this week, McAllister and the Saints agreed to a restructuring of his contract, which freed the team from paying a 1 million dollar roster bonus while allowing McAllister to still earn that money by reaching performance incentives.

The two sides originally postponed the deadline for the roster bonus from March 15th to April 15th to give the Saints more time to evaluate the progress of McAllister's rehabilitation.

That left open the possibility the Saints would terminate McAllister's contract rather than pay the bonus if there were worries about his health. The new deal ensures McAllister remains with the only team he's played for since entering the NFL in 2001.

McAllister tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the third game last season and underwent surgery on September 27. At the same time, he had microfracture surgery on his right knee, the same knee on which he had surgery to repair a torn ACL in

2005.