Travis Etienne Jr. won’t be on the field Monday night for the New Orleans Saints, and that changes the shape of the backfield in a Week 4 meeting with the Atlanta Falcons.
Etienne has been ruled out and placed on injured reserve after dealing with a hamstring injury he suffered earlier this season. That means he’ll miss at least four weeks, leaving Alvin Kamara, Kendre Miller and CJ Donaldson as the Saints’ available options out of the backfield.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported that Kamara is expected to handle most of the workload while Etienne is sidelined. The note from Rapoport was straightforward: Alvin Kamara expected to "carry the load" with Travis Etienne on IR.
Etienne, a former first-round pick who signed with the Saints in the offseason, has been on the field for 50.9 percent of the team’s offensive snaps through three weeks. He’s carried 30 times for 128 yards, good for 4.3 yards per carry, and has added 11 receptions for 51 yards. The one thing missing from his stat line so far in 2026: a trip to the end zone.
Kamara and Miller have already been part of the rotation this season, and with Etienne out, Kamara could take on a bellcow role on Monday for the first time in 2026.
That’s where the betting angle gets interesting. While Kamara is the obvious headliner for the Saints’ ground game, there’s also a case to be made for Miller finding the end zone in this NFC South matchup.
Miller already scored for New Orleans in Week 1. With Kamara out in that game, Miller worked as the change-of-pace back, logging nine carries for 30 yards and a touchdown while playing 28.9 percent of the snaps. In Week 3, he got four carries for 14 yards and played 18.9 percent of the snaps.
With Etienne having handled most of the snaps in this backfield in 2026, there should be work available in Week 4. Kamara’s touchdown price has already moved to +115, but Miller still has appeal at his number after punching in a red-zone score earlier this season.
In Other News...
Joe Horn Opens Up About The Saints Moment New Orleans Needed Most
When the Saints finally walked back into the Superdome for that 2006 Monday night game against Atlanta, it was bigger than football. For Joe Horn, who was one of the franchises defining voices at the time, the return carried the weight of a city trying to find its footing again after Hurricane Katrina. It was the kind of night that reminded New Orleans what the team meant, and what the team could mean for the community beyond wins and losses.
Horn has spoken candidly about how strongly he felt the Saints needed to be back in New Orleans, helping give the city something to rally around when it mattered most. The game itself became a turning point in the rebuilding story, with the Saints beating the Falcons and setting the stage for a stretch that eventually turned the franchise into one of the NFLs better teams, capped by the Super Bowl title in 2009. [Read more 🡒]
Saints First-Round WR Return Timeline Just Got More Complicated
Jordyn Tysons path back onto the field has already stretched longer than the Saints likely wanted when the first-round wide receiver went down with a hamstring injury in camp. He is making progress, but the current expectation is that he remains weeks away from game action after initially being projected to miss around two months.
The return picture now points at at least Week 7, with a later comeback in Week 9 also in play because of scheduling considerations. For New Orleans, it leaves Tyson as a player to keep tracking rather than counting on just yet, especially with the team trying to map out how soon its top rookie receiver can realistically be part of the offense. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Get An Early Chance To Change A Familiar Falcons Problem
The Saints get another crack at a problem that has lingered for years when Atlanta comes to town, and this one arrives with a little extra weight attached to it. New Orleans is still sorting through its own identity, but the matchup also comes against a Falcons team quarterbacked by Michael Penix Jr., while the Saints are expected to turn to Tyler Shough, giving the meeting a fresh layer beyond the usual NFC South friction.
It is the kind of game that can tell the Saints a lot about where they are headed and whether some of the old frustrations against Atlanta are starting to fade. The timing adds to the mood, too, with this week marking the 20th anniversary of the Saints' return to the Superdome, a reminder of how often this franchise has used the building as a backdrop for turning points and trying to reset familiar narratives. [Read more 🡒]