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New Orleans Saints coach Kellen Moore says there will be enough snaps for running backs Alvin Kamara and Travis Etienne.
Moore, who spoke to the media at Monday’s NFL league meeting, was asked several questions about how the Saints will handle both running backs this season.
Kamara’s future has been a topic of discussion since the Saints signed Etienne to a four-year contract worth $11.8 million per year on March 13. Etienne, 27, spent five seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars after they selected him with the 25th pick of the 2021 NFL Draft.
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Kamara, who turns 31 on July 25, has one year left on his recently restructured contract, which would pay him up to $11.5 million in salary and bonuses this year.
“I’m really excited about the signing of Travis. Obviously Alvin, we love Alvin. He means a lot to all of us,” Moore said. “Again, this is a whole offseason process. Certainly we feel like, ‘Hey, he’s in this room.’ You can find roles for all of these different types. We will go through the entire offseason process and continue to grow and develop this team.”
Kamara is coming off a season in which he had career lows in rushing yards (471), rushing touchdowns (one), receiving yards (186) and receiving touchdowns (zero) after missing six games due to knee and ankle injuries. He also missed the last three games of the 2024 season due to injury.
When asked about the possibility of Kamara resigning in early March, Moore said he would “not get involved in any of those things” but said no such discussions had taken place with him. He also said that the team will “go through this whole process” regarding Etienne and Kamara playing together.
On Monday, he said he hasn’t had any conversations with Kamara since his free agency, but said yes when asked if they would proceed as if Kamara would be with the team in 2026.
“Well, he’s definitely on the roster and part of the running back room,” Moore said. “We feel like there’s opportunities to manipulate all of these guys and put them in a lot of situations. Look back at our season last year, probably look at almost any NFL season. There’s a lot of running backs playing. Obviously we’re happy we were able to get Travis in free agency, but there’s still a lot of work to be done out there.”
Two of Kamara’s best seasons came when paired with running back Mark Ingram. Both defenders had more than 1,500 yards rushing in 2017, when Kamara was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. Kamara also had 1,592 yards from scrimmage and 18 total touchdowns alongside Ingram in 2018.
Moore said the depth of the running back room is one of his strengths. In addition to Kamara and Etienne, this also includes Devin Neal, Audric Estime, Kendre Miller and the recently signed Ty Chandler.
“There are a lot of different ways to do this,” Moore said. “In our running back room, the way last season went, a lot of these guys have experience, a lot of them have played football. So it’s going to be beneficial to us that we have a couple guys, three or four guys that played meaningful snaps last year, all coming back. And then when you throw in Travis, it’s a great situation for us.”
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