Travis Etienne Jr. to miss at least four weeks with hamstring injury

The New Orleans Saints will be without their No. 1 running back for at least a month. Travis Etienne Jr. is headed to injured reserve, coach Kellen Moore said. Etienne suffered a hamstring injury during the Week 3 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Moore said that Etienne will not require surgery but that the injury appears significant enough to warrant a recovery period of at least four weeks. Moore announced on Monday that his running back would miss time, and three days later, it became clear that an IR designation was the best path forward.

Etienne landed on the Saints' injury report last week due to a hamstring issue, but was a full participant in the final practice leading up to that 35-27 loss to the Raiders. The injury he sustained on Sunday was to his left leg, which is the same one that bothered him during the week.

The injury occurred on a 16-yard run as Etienne pulled up and grabbed at his hamstring as he ran out of bounds. Safety Jeremy Chinn pushed him across the boundary, and after he nursed the injury on the ground, Etienne was able to walk into the medical tent under his own power.

The Saints signed Etienne to a lucrative four-year, $47 million contract in the offseason, making him the 12th-highest-paid running back in the NFL. His usage this season made him the primary ballcarrier on New Orleans' roster but not by the sizable margin the contract would suggest. Alvin Kamara, Kendre Miller and CJ Donaldson combined for 35 carries to Etienne's 30 across the first three weeks, and they were just one target shy of matching his workload as a receiver.

Etienne enters his four-game absence with 30 carries for 128 yards and remains in search of his first touchdown as a Saint.

Saints' three-man backfield to split carries

Losing Etienne is a significant blow to an offense that ranks in the middle of the pack in rushing production and leans heavily on the pass. The Saints could become more one-dimensional unless the trio of healthy backs makes up for the lost production.

"I think Alvin and Kendre will handle that load really well," Moore said. "CJ has obviously kind of found his specific role. We've got some depth on the practice squad as we navigate the next few weeks. I feel like we're in a good place."

This could be an opportunity for Kamara to reprise his role as the Saints' primary ballcarrier. While he has 24 touches to Miller's 15, the veteran might carve out a larger share of the duties thanks to his more proven track record as a No. 1 option. He began to lose his grip on that job even before Etienne's arrival, though, and took a pay cut when the team restructured his contract in the offseason.

"Very few times in this league is one running back gonna haul the load," Moore said. "That's just what this league is. You're gonna need a number of backs to carry the ball in different circumstances. Alvin's done a nice job to start the season. Obviously, he missed Week 1 coming off that injury, and I thought last week there was some good stuff in there, and we'll just keep continuing to build on that."