The New Orleans Saints have added a big weapon to their offensive arsenal for the 2026 season, agreeing to terms on a four-year deal worth $52 million with running back Travis Etienne. This is a massive addition for the Saints, who needed help in their backfield, especially now with the Alvin Kamara retirement rumors floating around.
Etienne is a huge get for New Orleans. The former first-round pick out of Clemson in 2021 spent the first five years of his career with the Jags and rushed for over 1,100 yards last year while finding the end zone 13 times total. He was an electric weapon for Trevor Lawrence and the Jags and now hopefully he can continue to be that productive for Tyler Shough and the Saints.
Travis Etienne gives Saints electric RB they desperately need
Etienne is from Louisiana so that factored into his decision to sign with the Saints. It also probably didn't hurt that they were willing to give him $52 million and that their offense looked pretty good in the back half of the 2025 season.
Kellen Moore has proven that he can call plays and get the most from his offense and Shough had a nice rookie year at quarterback. Those things had to be appealing to Etienne as well.
After the Chiefs signed Kenneth Walker, Etienne made even more sense for New Orleans to bring in. He'll become the RB1 for the Saints and give Shough a ton of help in the backfield. Some might gripe at the contract he was given but hey, if this team wants to compete, they need to sign big players and Etienne is undoubtedly a big player who can change games for the Saints.
Saints fans were waiting for this team to make a splash in free agency and signing Etienne definitely scratches that itch. Let’s hope this works out for the Saints and their offense is as explosive as we’re all dreaming it can be in 2026.