Travis Etienne’s injury provides Kendre Miller with the opportunity we thought Alvin Kamara’s injury was going to give him. Etienne is going to miss time, per Kellen Moore, but we don’t know what that exact timeline is going to be. Miller has to make the most of that time, however long it is.
Etienne was just beginning to get into a flow in Week 3 before this injury, making the impact sting a little more. In the spirit of next man up, Miller will now have a premier role in the offense for likely multiple weeks. It’s the same thing we said when Kamara was injured in training camp, but then he beat the recovery timeline.
It’ll be interesting to see if Saints bring Zamir White up to the active roster as well. Miller, Kamara and CJ Donaldson give the team three running backs, so calling up a back from the practice squad will depend on the gameplan that week. Last week, they went with four running backs for the first time, for example, but the team went heavy with tight ends the week prior.
Kendre Miller has to prove the Saints should keep him around in 2027
Miller’s 2026 campaign has looked drastically different each week. He split carries with Etienne in Week 1. That was just as surprising as him being a healthy scratch in Week 2, then he followed it up with a small role in Week 3.
Moving forward, Miller’s role should resemble Week 1 on a consistent basis. Both he and Etienne had 9 carries in that game. The Saints shouldn’t be in a 21 point hole frequently, so they should be able to run the football more. However, the split percentage should be relatively steady, with Kamara taking the place of Etienne.
The Saints didn’t pay all this money to Etienne and have doubts of Kamara’s return draw out for months just to make him the bell cow running back that they never used Etienne as. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Miller get more carries and Kamara get more touches through the air.
Miller has never had 15 carries in a game. It's not a bold prediction to say he'll hit that at least once in the time that Etienne is out. He may even be the lead back as far as rushing attempts go.
Miller is in a contract year, so these opportunities are critical for him. When everyone is healthy, his touches will be limited. The weeks that Etienne is out are essentially Miller’s audition tape for a bigger role this year and a spot on the roster in 2027.
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