The Saints’ 2026 training camp in Metairie has plenty of roster fights to sort through, but none feels more pressing than the one facing Kendre Miller.
For Miller, this isn’t just another summer competition. It’s the final year of his rookie deal, and after a career slowed by injuries, he has to show New Orleans he can stay on the field and earn a place on the 53-man roster.
The former third-round pick arrived in 2023 with real promise out of TCU, and the talent has always been obvious. The problem has been keeping that talent available.
At 6-foot and 220 pounds, Miller brings the kind of downhill burst and contact balance that made him a First-Team All-Big 12 back, along with soft hands that fit naturally in the passing game. He flashed that upside in 2025 while working as a physical complement to Alvin Kamara, putting together his best stretch as a pro before disaster hit. Last October’s torn ACL changed everything, and now the bigger question is not what he can do, but whether his body can handle the weekly punishment of an NFL season.
That challenge gets tougher because the Saints have rebuilt the backfield around him. Travis Etienne Jr. arrived on a marquee multi-year deal to take over as the lead back.
Kamara remains in the mix after reworking his contract to stay in New Orleans. Devin Neal, the 2025 draft pick, stepped up when Miller went down last fall and showed decisive running and quick chemistry with the offense.
Audric Estimé and Ty Chandler add more depth, power, and special teams value.
That leaves Miller fighting for limited room. With Etienne and Kamara occupying the top two spots, New Orleans will likely keep only three, at most four, running backs.
Miller is now in a direct battle with younger, cheaper, and in some cases more dependable options like Neal and Estimé. The financial side matters too: moving on from Miller before final cuts would clear roughly $1.5 million in cap space.
So what does Miller have to do? More than simply look good.
He has to look essential. That means showing full explosiveness after ACL surgery, especially the quick cuts and burst that make him dangerous near the line of scrimmage.
It means proving he can hold up in pass protection, because Kellen Moore’s offense will ask backs to pick up blitzing linebackers. And it means finding a way to help on special teams, since fringe running backs rarely survive on offense alone.
The margin for error is tiny. Miller has more raw power and big-play juice than most of the backs competing for that RB3 job, but camp in Metairie is going to reward durability and versatility, not upside by itself.
If he stays healthy through August and reminds the Saints why he was drafted in the third round, he gives them a real reason to keep him. If the injuries return, New Orleans has enough other options to move on.
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