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When is Travis Etienne Jr. coming back? Will Travis Etienne Jr. play again this season? Read about Travis Etienne Jr.'s return date and injury updates for 2026.
New Orleans Saints running back Travis Etienne Jr. (hamstring) wasn't very involved in the Saints' offense in his first few games with his new team. It was a strange development, considering they opened the vaults to sign him to a four-year, $48 million contract to join the team.
Etienne had a resurgent season as the lead RB for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2025. He rushed 260 times for 1,107 yards and seven touchdowns and caught 36 passes for 292 yards and six more scores in 17 games, finishing as the RB10 overall in PPR fantasy football leagues.
So when we saw running back Kendre Miller match his carry count in Week 1, and RB Alvin Kamara log two more touches than ETN in Week 2, there was reason for concern. Turns out maybe that's because he was dealing with an injury that they were trying to load-manage. But will Etienne come back from his hamstring injury soon?
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Travis Etienne Jr. Injury Update for Fantasy Football
The answer to the above question is definitely not. Etienne was placed on injured reserve earlier in Week 4, meaning he'll miss at least four games with the hamstring injury he picked up.
His ailment popped up the classic way hamstring issues do -- when he was running full speed, which loads the hamstring the hardest of any activity NFL players engage in. He pulled up and seemed to know immediately what had happened.
#Saints Travis Etienne Jr. seems to have a hamstring injury #NFL https://t.co/UR2Kjpc9iX
— Tanner Phifer (@TannerPhifer) September 27, 2026
He didn't return to the game. His return timeline is unclear. We won't know much until after his stint on IR ends, and he returns to practice. At that point, we can speculate on his return date.
Most players with hamstring injuries don't miss the full season. The worst hammy problems lead to absences of around 10 weeks, so even that would give Etienne time to return and play a few contests before the end of the regular season.
Travis Etienne Jr. Fantasy Football Outlook
There's a chance his Saints career will never take off. If he wasn't simply dealing with an injury heading into the season, and he was so unimpressive in training camp that he didn't beat out Kamara or Miller for the lead job, he could be in for a long, rough year.
He averaged just under 4.3 yards per carry in his last season in Jacksonville, which was alright. But it's interesting that the Jags didn't extend him. $12 million per year may seem like a lot for a running back, but it's a drop in the bucket compared to top-end salaries for players at other positions.
Despite multiple big runs and highlight-reel plays last season, if you break down ETN's advanced stats and compare them with Kamara's from 2023 to 2025, they're not much different. They both rank near the bottom of the league in multiple statistical categories.
Travis Etienne goes 71 YARDS on the ground!
CARvsJAX on FOX
https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt https://t.co/tvsIl6cNNJ— NFL (@NFL) September 7, 2025
In yards per rush, among 40 qualified running backs, they both average bottom-5 in yards per carry, bottom-10 in explosive rush rate, yards after contact per rush, and expected points added per run. Etienne's success rate of under 45 percent was third-worst during that stretch.
My analysis has pointed out numerous red flags in Etienne's film and production, and without the elite Liam Coen offense crutch to lean on, maybe he's just not a viable starting RB. Coen is the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. The silver lining is that Saints head coach Kellen Moore runs a good offense.
But it may not be enough. Etienne only had to beat out rookies last season for the clear RB1 role. This year, he has to square off against veterans.
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Week 5 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players: David Montgomery, Cam Skattebo, Emanuel Wilson, Bucky Irving, RJ Harvey, Ollie Gordon II. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 5.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, player news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circle), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 5 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 5 (2026)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 5 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 5 for David Montgomery, Cam Skattebo, Emanuel Wilson, Bucky Irving, RJ Harvey, Ollie Gordon II:
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