Saints lose $47M free agent acquisition to injured reserve

This is just brutal. New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore told reporters Thursday that star running back Travis Etienne Jr. will be placed on injured reserve while he deals with a hamstring injury. He was limited in practice last week and tried to play through it in Sunday's loss to thee Las Vegas Raiders, but Etienne went down at the end of a 16-yard run and was visibly in pain as he made his way back to the sideline.

He'll be sidelined for at least the next four weeks -- a stretch that includes two home games, a flight to New York, and the NFL's first-ever game in Paris. That means we won't see Etienne until after the Saints return from their bye week. However, Moore said "we'll see" how Etienne is progressing in recovery before activating him. That suggests he could need more time to heal up. For now, the Nov. 8 home game with the Cleveland Browns looks like his soonest return date.