There was a lot of excitement around the New Orleans Saints addition of running back Travis Etienne Jr. over the offseason. However, the early results have been underwhelming.
Over the first two games of the season, Etienne tallied just 71 total yards, and he’s yet to get into the End Zone in a Saints uniform.
Contract for Travis Etienne Jr. Named One Saints Likely Already Regret
As a result of his slow start, Etienne’s contract (four-year, $48 million) was named as one that the Saints likely already regret by Alex Kay of Bleacher Report.
“Etienne did do some heavy lifting as a pass-catcher in New Orleans’ opener—securing seven of his nine targets for 32 yards—but was far less a factor in his squad’s Week 2 win over the Baltimore Ravens. The veteran finished the game with a meager 31 yards from scrimmage on 10 touches,” Kay wrote.
“To make matters worse, Alvin Kamara made his 2026 debut against Baltimore and cut into Etienne’s workload significantly. . . . Considering Etienne is being paid as an upper-echelon running back, the Saints need far better returns in the coming weeks before this contract winds up being a significant albatross on their books.”
Two weeks of action is too small of a sample size to jump to any conclusions. The Saints played against two good defenses in the first two weeks in Detroit and Baltimore, so that could have added to Etienne being less productive than the Saints might have hoped. Let’s see if he can get it going over the next few weeks. If not, then it might be truly time for concern.
Travis Etienne Dealing With Hamstring Injury Heading into Week 3 Game vs. Raiders
To make matters worse, Etienne is now apparently dealing with an injury heading into New Orleans’ Week 3 matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders. He popped up on the team’s injury report and was listed as a limited participant on Wednesday due to a hamstring injury.
It remains to be seen how that issue will impact Etienne’s status for gameday, but it certainly isn’t ideal for a player who is looking to overcome a slow start to the season.
Free Agent Addition Named Contract New Orleans Saints Already Regret