This offseason has been a great one for the New Orleans Saints. With a ton of momentum from the end of the 2025 NFL season, Kellen Moore and Mickey Loomis made a few big additions.
David Edwards was a high-quality offensive line pickup for the Saints, as their OL is now complete for Tyler Shough. But that's not all the Saints did for Shough. In fact, their best move of the offseason was one that's some big help for Shough.
As NFL.com's Jeffri Chadiha writes, the Saints' free agent signing of running back Travis Etienne Jr. is one of the top-10 roster moves of the offseason, thanks in part to how Etienne will impact Shough in 2026.
Saints' Travis Etienne Jr. signing top-10 move of offseason
"The best way to make life easier for second-year quarterback Tyler Shough is to give him what New Orleans lacked last season: a viable running game," Chadiha writes.
Etienne signed with the Saints after five years with the Jacksonville Jaguars on a four-year, $47.4 million contract. However, this deal isn't what it seems.
Initially, it was reported as a $52 million deal, but in reality, it's not even as expensive as the $47.4 million that came out later.
In fact, this contract for Etienne is essentially a two-year, $24 million deal, thanks to an out after the 2027 season that won't cost the Saints much at all. If this signing goes south, the Saints can get out of it easily.
But this addition of Etienne for the Saints' offense is one to feel confident about. The 27-year-old running back is a fantastic player and is coming off a strong year for the Jaguars.
More: Travis Etienne Jr. agrees to Saints deal leaving Jaguars behind
He had 1,107 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 260 attempts. His work as a receiver was also very impressive, as he caught 36 of 52 targets for 292 yards and six touchdowns.
Etienne is a great dual-threat, bellcow running back who will now be giving Shough what was sorely missing from the offense all of last season.
Alvin Kamara isn't as good as he once was, and while Keandre Miller and Devin Neal are decent running backs, neither has shown enough to be a full-time starter.
Etienne has looked the part, and with this signing being only a two-year deal worth $24 million guaranteed thanks to an easy out after 2027, this signing is one of the best of the NFL offseason, as it's ranked in the top-10 by Chadiha.
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