Former Clemson Running Back Travis Etienne Jr. Finds New Home in NFL Free Agency

In his time with the Clemson Tigers, running back Travis Etienne Jr. ran all over opposing offenses. Now, he will be doing that on a new NFL team close to his home.

On Monday afternoon, the former Jacksonville tailback signed a four-year, $52 million deal with the New Orleans Saints, ending his five-year tenure with the Jaguars. The deal was first reported by NFL’s Ian Rapaport.

Saints signing RB Travis Etienne. (via @rapsheet) pic.twitter.com/j6KrE6qOit
— NFL (@NFL) March 9, 2026

Etienne was looking to be closer to his hometown of Jennings, Louisiana, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Now, he’s only a two-and-a-half hour drive to his hometown from the Caesars Superdome.

The former Tiger finishes his Jacksonville career with 3,798 rushing yards and 1,338 yards through the air. Etienne ends an eight-year connection with starting quarterback and fellow alumni, Trevor Lawrence, who he played with at Clemson for three seasons.

He averaged over four yards per carry, going to a New Orleans team that finished fifth-worst in rushing yards per game at only 94.3 a contest. Now, that will look to change in the second season under head coach Kellen Moore while entering the final year of standout tailback Alvin Kamara’s contract.

Etienne got to the NFL with a first-round draft pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. The Jaguars selected him with the No. 25 overall pick after coming off a season where he was recognized as a consensus All-American as an all-purpose selection. In his 2020 season with the Tigers, he finished with 914 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns in 12 games. In that same season, he set the record for receptions and receiving yards for a Clemson tailback, with 48 and 588 yards, respectively.

The Louisiana native burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2017, being a third team All-ACC selection by the ACC that season. He only got better with each year, being at least a second team All-American among different outlets in 2018-19. He won ACC Player of the Year in both of those seasons.

By the time he finished his time under head coach Dabo Swinney, Etienne finished with 4,952 rushing yards and 70 rushing touchdowns, the most rushing yards by any running back in the ACC’s history when he finished. His 6,894 all-purpose yards are behind Clemson legend and current coach, C.J. Spiller, for the most in ACC history.

Etienne will bring an impressive resume to the NFC South, looking to build onto a Saints offense that will look to unlock Tyler Shough in his second season at quarterback, his first as a true starter. If Lawrence has anything to say about how he’s been able to grow with his running back, only time will tell to see if Shough will do the same.