The Saints may have a Kendre Miller decision coming, and if Jonathan Jones’ report turns into something real, New Orleans probably shouldn’t overthink it.
Jones of The Athletic listed Miller as one of the players teams could call the Saints about, and that immediately put the running back on a different kind of radar. Justin Reid drew the bigger spotlight on the list, but Miller’s inclusion is the one that could actually lead to a clean, simple move for New Orleans.
The timing matters because Travis Etienne Jr should be back before the trade deadline. That would take some pressure off the Saints’ backfield situation, which is really the only reason Miller becomes a conversation at all. If Etienne is available, the Saints would no longer be staring at a numbers problem behind Alvin Kamara.
Right now, moving Miller would leave the Saints with just Kamara and CJ Donaldson, and Donaldson got hurt last week. That’s why the Saints would need to solve the quantity issue first. Once they do, a deal for Miller starts to look like the kind of move that makes too much sense to ignore.
And the price doesn’t need to be steep. The bar for a Miller trade shouldn’t be high at all. If New Orleans can get any value for him, that should be enough to pull the trigger.
It’s a little surprising that Miller could draw interest in the first place, since he hasn’t lived up to the expectations that followed him out of TCU. But the talent is still visible at times, and that may be exactly what other teams are banking on.
The Saints haven’t exactly given him a clean runway. Their issues up front have made life difficult for any runner, and Miller has spent plenty of snaps with defenders already in the backfield before he can get going. That kind of environment can make a player look worse on paper than he does on film, and Miller has been one of those cases this season.
His career has followed that pattern for a while, and the health concerns only add to it. Miller hasn’t stayed healthy throughout his career, and that alone gives the Saints another reason to consider moving on if a team comes calling.
There’s also a Marcus Davenport-esque feel to the situation. Not in production, but in the broader arc: a hyped talent, a disappointing first healthy season, and both of those seasons landing in a contract year.
And if Miller isn’t likely to be on the roster in 2027 anyway, the logic is pretty straightforward. The Saints already showed with Trevor Penning that getting something now is better than waiting until a player walks. Miller is a better player than Penning, but the idea is the same.
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