How Alvin Kamara might make Saints regret $48M contract for ex-Jaguars RB

1 month ago 13

The New Orleans Saints made it their mission this offseason to surround second-year quarterback Tyler Shough with the best talent possible.

Chris Olave, Juwan Johnson, and Alvin Kamara were a good starting point. But the Saints wanted more help. They drafted Jordyn Tyson, though he's going to miss the first two months of the year. Their other big move was to bolster their running back room.

However, the $48 million signing of Travis Etienne Jr. has not worked out as planned. Thanks in part to Kamara and Etienne's own struggles, Alex Kay of Bleacher Report believes the Saints might already regret their Etienne free-agent deal.

Saints might regret Travis Etienne Jr. contract already

"Considering Etienne is being paid as an upper-echelon running back, the Saints need far better returns in the coming weeks before this contract winds up being a significant albatross on their books," Kay writes.

Etienne was a standout running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars last season, running for 1,107 yards and seven touchdowns on 260 carries, to go with 36 receptions on 52 targets for 292 yards and six touchdowns.

But with the Saints, things have been a lot more questionable. In two games, Etienne has 17 carries for just 71 yards with nine receptions on 11 targets for 38 yards.

His 4.2 yards per touch so far is the lowest mark of his career, and is well below the 4.7 yards per touch he had a season ago. But it's not just his touch-by-touch efficiency that's been an issue.

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Etienne's 57% snap count through two weeks is something worth worrying about. After spending $48 million, and $28 million guaranteed to sign Etienne, one would think he'd be heavily utilized in this offense.

But through two weeks, Etienne has split the backfield touches with Kamara, CJ Donaldson, and Keandre Miller.

This is not a good start for Etienne in New Orleans, and it's hard not to start worrying about his $48 million deal after such a poor start.

It's only two weeks, so it's too soon to actually regret this free-agent deal. But the early signs are not good, especially with how much Kamara is playing. This is a situation to monitor going forward, as things could get ugly.