The New Orleans Saints didn’t have Travis Etienne for long before his injury sent him onto injured reserve, but that was already one thing impacting how their offense looks this season.
If Alvin Kamara were to deal with a longer-term injury, it’d look even more different.
The thing is — the Saints weren’t far off from that reality.
Kamara had to exit Monday Night Football with a knee injury, temporarily depleting the New Orleans RB depth chart even further.
He returned, so it wasn’t a total nightmare, but it was a quick glimpse at what this thing could look like if the aging Kamara also can’t stay on the field.
Alvin Kamara Injury
Kamara’s exit didn’t look ideal. He wasn’t moving particularly well on the sideline as he tried to work through whatever was bothering him.
The fact that it was announced as a knee injury doesn’t seem ideal, either, because Kamara also missed time in the summer (and into Week 1) with a knee problem.
It’s hard to know whether they’re connected, but even if they’re not, it’s not a great development for the Saints.
Kamara came back in, which mitigated concern, but the Saints were a bit more cautious with him the rest of the way.
He had played 59% of the snaps prior to his injury, but by the end of the game, he had played just 41% of the total snaps — so he declined in a hurry, obviously missing a portion of that with his injury.
It makes sense that the Saints didn’t totally overwork him afterward, given especially that the game was getting out of hand.
Still, it bears watching, and it raises questions about what else the Saints have at their disposal.
Kamara’s injury that knocked him out was on the 7th possession (3rd quarter).
Prior to that:
59% snaps, 43% attempts, 55% routes, 100% short-yardage snaps
— Dwain McFarland (@dwainmcfarland) October 6, 2026
Saints RB Depth Chart
The Saints had two other running backs active on Monday night.
Kendre Miller got most of the touches behind Kamara, at least until the final drive when the game wasn’t in question.
CJ Donaldson also got a decent amount of playing time, although a bunch of that was in pass protection out of the shotgun formation and not actually to get the football.
The Saints also have two RBs on their practice squad: Zamir White and Ulysses Bentley IV.
Kamara seems healthy for now and should continue to lead the backfield with Etienne out, but his recent injury history suggests this is an area that New Orleans isn’t perfectly safe in.
Keep an eye on what the Saints do at running back going forward, because Kamara’s health may not be something they can entirely rely on going forward.
Alvin Kamara Injury Shows Saints Scary Truth