Travis Etienne Jr. may be lining up for the Saints on Saturday, and the setting gives the preseason opener a little extra edge.
New Orleans opens its preseason against Jacksonville at 3 p.m. CT inside the Caesars Superdome, which is the same building where Etienne’s NFL start hit a brutal snag.
During the Jaguars’ 2021 preseason game against the Saints, Etienne suffered a Lisfranc injury in his foot only months after Jacksonville took him with the No. 25 overall pick. Surgery followed, and the injury wiped out his entire rookie year.
He landed on injured reserve and didn’t get to make his official NFL debut until 2022.
This won’t be Etienne’s first game in the Superdome since that injury, though. He was back there in October 2023 for a Thursday night matchup and helped Jacksonville beat the Saints 31-24. In that game, he carried 14 times for 53 yards and scored two touchdowns.
Now the twist: Etienne is entering the building as a member of the Saints. The Jennings, Louisiana, native signed a four-year contract with New Orleans during the offseason, giving him a chance to suit up for his home-state team after four active seasons in Jacksonville. He left the Jaguars with 3,798 rushing yards and 32 total touchdowns.
New Orleans isn’t expected to play its starters in the first week of the preseason, but Etienne could still get a few snaps and a first taste of what it feels like to wear Saints colors in the place where his pro career once stalled.
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