The New Orleans Saints are playing without Travis Etienne on Monday night, and likely for a while with a hamstring injury that placed him on injured reserve.
That pushed Alvin Kamara into the apparent RB1 role for the Saints, but that didn’t equal a lot of early touches for New Orleans.
The first carry for the Saints actually went to Kendre Miller.
It isn’t necessarily a major sign, but it’s something worth watching.
Saints RB Split
It always seemed like this would be a three-back breakdown on Monday Night Football for the Saints against the Falcons.
No one was quite sure exactly what it would look like for Kamara, but he did get a quick run and catch after Miller’s touches. Then he got another catch and then another carry, so he moved the pendulum back in his direction.
Miller is a younger back, and the Saints might view him as having more snaps in him just to protect the aging Kamara.
The Saints also have undrafted rookie C.J. Donaldson. He’s from Ohio State and is mostly the short-yardage guy.
Saints RB Jersey Numbers
The Saints have two running backs in the 40s and one with a single-digit number.
Kamara still wears his classic number 41.
Donaldson, the bruising undrafted rookie, wears number 43.
Miller has the single-digit 5.
Where is Travis Etienne?
The Saints would usually rely on Travis Etienne, the big free agent signing from the Jacksonville Jaguars.
They signed him to a four-year contract for this season, and the hope was that Etienne would take the baton from Kamara and carry it forward.
Etienne had a slow start in his first three games, and he didn’t even finish that third one due to his hamstring injury.
Now, Etienne has to miss a minimum of four games, because that’s how it works when a player is placed on IR.
In his absence, the Saints will likely continue to split their RB work between Kamara, Miller and Donaldson.
Why Alvin Kamara Isn’t Running As Much vs. Kendre Miller for Saints RBs