The New Orleans Saints shelled out a lot of money in the offseason to sign Travis Etienne away from the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency.
But beginning in Week 4, the Saints are going to be without Etienne for a little while. He was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury and will have to miss a minimum of four games.
That pushes Alvin Kamara into a potential lead back role, but it also created a need at the bottom of the depth chart.
Teams like to stick with a consistent number of players at a position in the building, and with Etienne hurt, that made the Saints one light at RB.
To remedy that, they made a new signing on Wednesday.
Saints Sign New RB
The Saints have signed Ulysses Bentley IV to their practice squad.
Talk about an incredible name.
His grandpa actually tried out for the Saints back in the day:
he Saints signed RB Ulysses Bentley IV to the practice squad. Pretty cool story with local ties. His uncle is Kango Slimm from Partners-N-Crime & his grandfather tried out for the Saints in 1967. He was born in New Orleans but evacuated during Katrina to Houston
— Katherine Terrell (@Kat_Terrell) October 1, 2026
Who is Ulysses Bentley IV?
Ulysses Bentley IV is a 24-year old running back who grew up in Texas after relocating from New Orleans.
He played collegiately at SMU and then at Ole Miss.
He broke out immediately in college, earning AAC co-freshman of the year honors as a redshirt freshman for the Mustangs.
After three seasons at SMU, he entered the transfer portal and joined the Rebels.
Bentley got just 16 carries in his first season with Ole Miss, but then ran for 540 yards in 2023 and 419 in 2024.
It was enough to earn him a contract as an undrafted free agent with the Colts in 2025.
He remained with the Colts this summer but was cut before Week 1.
Ulysses Bentley IV 40 time, height, weight
Bentley is trying to overcome some classic value measurements that excite NFL personnel people.
He ran his 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine in 4.62 seconds. He also measured at 5-foot-9 and 201 pounds. His vertical leap was 32.5 inches.
None of those is going to wow anyone in a particularly great way.
But Bentley is in the NFL now, and the tests don’t matter. The next team he gets a chance to impress is the Saints.
Saints RB Depth Chart
The Saints without Etienne have Kamara presumably atop their depth chart.
They then have Kendre Miller and CJ Donaldson both having already played this year.
Past them, they already had Zamir White on the practice squad, and now they’ve added Bentley.
Saints Sign New RB With Great Name After Travis Etienne Injury News