April 3, 2026, 5:57 p.m. CT
So many former New Orleans Saints players and coaches have left to join Sean Payton on the Denver Broncos in recent years that it tends to stand out when the Saints come out ahead for a change. It turns out that’s exactly what happened when former Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. signed with New Orleans in free agency. The Athletic’s Mike Sando reports that Etienne’s decision stunned the Broncos, who opted to re-sign veteran running back J.K. Dobbins once Etienne made his intentions known.
One executive Sando spoke with said the Broncos believed their were frontrunners to sign Etienne, but “they were shocked” when he went to New Orleans instead. Dobbins had a good year in Denver but comparing his two-year, $16 million extension to Etienne’s four-year, $48 million deal shows you how highly regarded both players have become.
Hopefully Etienne can produce just as many explosive plays in New Orleans as he did in Jacksonville. The Saints signed him to take over for Alvin Kamara on top of their depth chart, and even if head coach Kellen Moore can see a way for both rushers to coexist, Kamara’s contract status (he has a $10.4 million salary cap hit this season, with $16.2 million deferred to next year, when he’ll be a free agent) makes his future murky. He just might end up in Denver if he and the Saints can’t reach a compromise. Payton often talked about how Kamara was one of the brightest football minds he coached over the years in New Orleans, and if Kamara wants to keep playing football once the Saints have decided to move on, it shouldn’t shock anyone if he and Payton team up for one last run together.
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