METAIRIE, La – New Orleans Saints running back Travis Etienne Jr. could see some missed time after exiting the team’s Week 3 game against the Las Vegas Raiders early with a hamstring injury, per Saints Head Coach Kellen Moore.
During his day-after press conference, Moore gave an overview of the team’s quartet of injuries suffered in the contest which included an inauspicious update around Etienne.
“We’re gathering a little bit of information,” he said. “Travis will be time lost with the [hamstring], we’ll see ultimately what that timeline looks like. Then [edge rushers Carl Granderson and Anfernee Jennings], we’ll see how that times out. Obviously, we have one more day this week [with the adjusted Monday Night Football schedule], and so we’ll gather a little bit more information.”
The Saints also saw linebacker Pete Werner leave early with a stinger. But it appears that the most notable and costly injury may be Etienne.
The team has not made a decision yet on whether or not to place Etienne on Injured Reserve, as it will first wait to see how the timeline progresses over the week.
Etienne went into the game managing a hamstring injury that limited him through the week of practices leading up to the game against the Raiders. Moore confirmed after the game that the injury was the same hamstring, but has declined to give too many specifics about the nature of the injury either being a worsened or aggravated recurrence of what he was previously navigating.
The Saints have not confirmed an exact timeline for Etienne’s return or whether he will miss one or multiple games. However, Moore has used the “time lost” designation for injuries that have affected availability in the past, most recently with rookie safety Lorenzo Styles Jr., who landed on Injured Reserve shortly after the season began.
Behind Etienne, the Saints still have three active running backs on the roster including long-time lead back Alvin Kamara, who is likely to take on the majority of the work moving forward. In the scenario in which Etienne is unavailable, Kamara would split the backfield with running backs Kendre Miller and CJ Donaldson, with Donaldson taking on the bulk of short-yardage and pass-blocking responsibilities.
With the Saints playing on Monday Night Football, the team will wait until Thursday to practice instead of beginning its usual work week Wednesday. At that time, Etienne’s practice participation, or lack thereof, should provide more clarity on his outlook.
