Updated March 17, 2026, 4:27 p.m. CT
Here’s more speed for the New Orleans Saints backfield. The Saints are signing former Minnesota Vikings running back Ty Chandler, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. Matthew Paras for the Times-Picayune and The Advocate adds that it’s a one-year deal on the league minimum salary. Chandler, 28 in May, is seen as a potential home-run threat with a 40-yard dash time of just 4.38 seconds. That’s a good time for someone listed at 5-foot-11 and 204 pounds.
But he’s got to find ways to harness that speed. Chandler struggled to earn touches in Minnesota and averaged only 3.9 yards per carry the last four years. His best work came in 2023 when he rushed 102 times for 461 yards and three touchdowns, but the big plays weren’t there. He only has 13 rushes of 10 or more yards on 181 career attempts. That’s a rate of 7.2%, compared to 10.2% from Travis Etienne Jr. He also missed time with a knee injury last year.
So look at this as more of a training camp invite than a promise of a roster spot. If Chandler is going to make the team, it may have to be on special teams. Dante Pettis worked as the Saints’ primary returns specialist last season after Rashid Shaheed was traded but he wasn’t re-signed after the season. Chandler did have a 91 yarder in his first year of college, but he gained as many kick return yards in that 2017 season (428) as he had in the rest of his college career (433), which ended at North Carolina. Outside of a 56-yard kick return in the 2022 preseason, longest kick return has gone for 38 yards. Maybe the Saints see something there.
He does do a good job protecting the football. Chandler hasn’t fumbled once or dropped a single pass in the NFL, and he’s never muffed a kick return, either. He also helped out the Vikings punt and kick coverage units, too, notching four solo tackles and six assists in the kicking game. The Saints will probably roster four running backs just like they did for most of last season. With Etienne on top of the depth chart, Alvin Kamara’s status in the air, and a battle brewing between Devin Neal, Audric Estime, and Kendre Miller, guys like Evan Hull and Chandler must set themselves apart.
