Saints putting RB Etienne on IR, sidelining him for at least 4 games

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  Katherine TerrellOct 1, 2026, 04:42 PM ET

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  Katherine Terrell came back to ESPN to cover the New Orleans Saints in the summer of 2022. She left the company in 2019 after joining in 2016 to cover the Cincinnati Bengals. Katherine is a graduate of LSU and a Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native, and she has covered the NFL since 2013.

The New Orleans Saints are placing running back Travis Etienne Jr. on injured reserve, which will sideline him for at least the next four games.

Etienne, who has a hamstring injury, suffered his injury in the Saints' Week 3 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Etienne had been on the injury report leading up to the game with a hamstring issue but participated fully in Friday's practice. Coach Kellen Moore, who announced that Etienne would miss time with his injury, said the injury occurred on the same leg as the one that had been bothering him during the week.

Etienne had a season-high 19 carries for 57 yards before the injury. After he left, carries were split between Alvin Kamara (six carries after Etienne's injury) and Kendre Miller (four carries after Etienne's injury).

Kamara, who missed time with a knee injury in September, had nine carries in his season debut against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2 over Etienne's eight carries, although the Saints almost exclusively used Etienne as the main rusher in the first half of the Raiders game.

Kamara, Miller and rookie CJ Donaldson will likely all be used in the Saints' Week 4 game against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night. Kamara is second on the team with 18 carries for 51 yards despite missing the season opener, while Miller, who was a healthy inactive against the Ravens, is third with 13 carries for 44 yards and a touchdown.