A week ago, it seemed like the New Orleans Saints promoted undrafted rookie running back CJ Donaldson from the practice squad because Alvin Kamara was out injured.
For Week 2, though, Kamara is going to be back. It seemed likely that Donaldson would stay down.
Instead, news emerged Friday night that Donaldson is going to be elevated again, and this time, it isn’t signaling an injury. Maybe it never was. And he’s actually being signed to the active roster, which means this elevation situation each week won’t exist anymore. He’s simply a 53-man roster guy now.
It’s showing what the Saints are interested in doing on offense in a way they haven’t always pursued in the past.
Why CJ Donaldson
Donaldson hasn’t been brought up to get carries in the backfield as a traditional tailback.
He’s going to be working in as a fullback.
The Saints don’t have a traditional fullback on their roster, but Donaldson aligned there at times in Week 1’s one-point loss to the Detroit Lions.
The fact that he’s coming up now even with Kamara joining an RB depth chart that already has Travis Etienne and Kendre Miller — that proves this isn’t about Donaldson carrying the football. It’s about making the most of his intriguing mixture of speed and strength in a compact, sturdy package.
This is what Saints beat writer Nick Underhill posted about the move on Friday night:
The Saints have signed RB CJ Donaldson to the active roster.
Interesting move. He takes Zach Wood’s spot. Looks like maybe some of those fullback looks are here to stay.
— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) September 18, 2026
Zach Wood mentioned in that post is the Saints’ injured long snapper. Donaldson won’t be doing that job, of course, but New Orleans is likely to promote their Week 2 long snapper from the practice squad, so Donaldson could have the active spot vacated by Wood’s move to IR.
CJ Donaldson Stats
Donaldson was given two carries in Week 1. He took one for three yards and the other for one yard.
He was also targeted twice, catching one pass for negative-two yards.
Maybe more notable is the snap counts.
Etienne was on the field for 53 snaps, and Miller played 26. Donaldson was out there for 15. That adds up to 94 snaps, even though the Saints only ran 90 offensive plays. Clearly, that’s at least a few sets in which two RBs were on the field — and Donaldson did get lined up in a fullback spot.
Donaldson also was useful with 20 snaps on special teams, which is another reason the Saints seem happy to have him on the roster. It’s a great way for an undrafted rookie to earn a roster spot, and Donaldson clearly did enough to do just that.
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