The New Orleans Saints placed running back Travis Etienne Jr. on injured reserve Thursday due to a hamstring injury.
Etienne, who aggravated a hamstring injury Sunday in a 35-27 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in the Saints’ home opener, must miss at least four games.
He leads the Saints with 30 carries and 128 rushing yards. He also has 11 receptions on 13 targets for 51 yards.
Etienne signed with New Orleans in March to a reported four-year, $52 million deal after five seasons with Jacksonville. The Jaguars selected him in the first round (25th overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Clemson, though he missed his entire rookie season due to injury.
He rushed for 3,798 yards and 25 touchdowns and caught 168 passes for 1,338 yards and seven TDs in 66 regular-season games (60 starts) with Jacksonville.
The Saints have 31-year-old running back Alvin Kamara, a five-time Pro Bowl selection (2017-21) who has rushed 18 times for 51 yards over two games this season. He missed time in September due to a knee injury.
Kamara has 1,692 carries, 7,301 yards and 61 rushing touchdowns, as well as 612 catches for 4,960 yards and 25 TDs in 128 regular-season games (96 starts) with New Orleans since 2017.
Kendre Miller (13 carries, 44 yards, one TD in two games) and rookie CJ Donaldson (four carries, 11 yards, in three games) are behind Etienne and Kamara on the depth chart.
New Orleans (1-2) hosts the Atlanta Falcons (1-2) on Monday night.
