Travis Etienne news
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
Saints RB Travis Etienne was removed from the injury report and will play Week 3.
His backfield role is shrinking as Alvin Kamara returns, so watch his workload.
Background
Etienne is in his first season with New Orleans and has played just over 50% of offensive snaps in each of his first two games, totaling 26 touches for 109 yards from scrimmage. The backfield has been unsettled: Alvin Kamara returned in Week 2 and led the team with a 33% rush share and 18% target share, cutting into Etienne's work. Etienne then appeared on the injury report with a hamstring issue, making his Week 3 availability uncertain until he was cleared.
How it unfolded
- Sep 20, 2026In Kamara's first game back, Etienne carried eight times for 25 yards and caught both targets for six yards in the Saints' 24-17 win over the Ravens, adding a two-point conversion. He finished with ten touches and 31 total yards while leading Saints running backs in snap share (53.1%) and route share (33.3%).
- Sep 23, 2026Etienne was a limited practice participant due to a hamstring injury, a new addition to New Orleans' injury report; head coach Kellen Moore confirmed the limited session.
- Sep 24, 2026Etienne practiced in a limited capacity for a second straight day, per Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.Football. Fellow RB Kendre Miller did not practice because of an illness, and the Saints' injury report grew from eight players Wednesday to 10 Thursday.
- Sep 25, 2026Etienne was removed from the injury report and will play in Week 3 against the Raiders.
- Sep 26, 2026Etienne was upgraded to a full session Friday and does not carry an injury designation into the game, after limited practices Wednesday and Thursday.
Who’s saying what
- Analysts
- Nic Bodiford of NBC Sports said that given the Saints' prior backfield workload splits and Etienne's soft-tissue strain, he should probably be viewed as a low-end RB2/FLEX starter right now.
- Caution
- Derek Brown of FantasyPros said Etienne could be an RB2 with a bad matchup this week but is best viewed as a risky flex until his usage improves.
- Caution
- CBS Sports views Etienne as an extremely borderline RB2 for this week, saying that if Kamara's usage doesn't shrink, Etienne has few outs to avoid being a bust.
Still unverified
It remains unclear whether the hamstring injury will affect Etienne's availability for Week 3, per FantasyPros; NBC Sports noted before Friday that his participation level for that day was not yet known.