Saints RB Kendre Miller (back) sidelined on Thu.

As of Thursday, Neal was taking advantage of RB Kendre Miller’s back injury by playing well at practice. Miller is still sidelined, but now Neal is too. The two backs, along with RBs Audric Estime, Ty Chandler and CJ Donaldson, are all competing for the RB3 job. The fact that Neal is working with the training staff out in the open is a good sign, but this is worth keeping an eye on because a hamstring injury ended his rookie season prematurely.

If the Saints cut bait on Alvin Kamara, Neal would probably be in the battle for the RB2 spot as things currently stand on the roster. This seems minor enough that we probably wouldn’t be concerned about it, but Neal was dinged up towards the end of last year and it’s worth keeping an eye on.

Triplett and his colleague, Nick Underhill, joked about how RB Kendre Miller (knee) will likely once again dazzle at organized team activities, before things fizzle for him. It’s a brutal take on the 23-year-old Miller, who has dealt with ankle, hamstring and knee injuries, plus one concussion, in his short career. Miller is currently rehabbing a torn ACL suffered in October 2025, but it sounds like he is expected to participate next week. If Kamara is released, Miller should at least get a chance to compete for the No. 2 role. Triplett believes the team has one A-back in RB Travis Etienne, and two B-backs in Miller and, presumably, RB Devin Neal.

Donaldson (6’2”/230) burst on the scene as a true freshman at West Virginia, rushing for 87-526-6 in seven games before a leg injury ended his season. Donaldson was recruited as a three-star tight end before moving to RB during training camp and quickly cemented himself as the starter for the Mountaineers. He rushed for 421-2,058-30 in three seasons before transferring to Ohio State last season. With the Buckeyes, Donaldson managed just 96 carries in 13 games, rushing for 361 yards and 10 scores while averaging a paltry 3.8 YPC. Despite his prowess as a former tight end, Donaldson has never been much of a factor in the passing game, catching just 47 passes for 286 yards in four seasons. Despite his size, Donaldson struggled mightily after contact, posting a 2.99 yards after contact per attempt for his career, and averaging 2.92 YCO/ATT or less in each of his final three seasons. He totaled just 24 carries of 15 or more yards in his career, and may not have much to offer outside of a short-yardage/goal-line role. His larger body of work leaves much to be desired. He’ll need a strong camp if he hopes to stick on the end of a roster. The Saints also signed DT Keeshawn Silver.

He’ll compete with Devin Neal for a backup role behind new No. 1 back Travis Etienne, assuming the Saints don’t add to the room in the draft. Chandler showed some pop in his 2023 season, averaging 4.5 yards per carry, but he tumbled to 2.8 last year. He’s likely a fringe roster player at this point.

Playing out the string for the Saints’ injury-ruined backfield, Estime reached 100 yards from scrimmage for the first time in his career after posting 98 the week before. Not a bad end to the year for a player who spent the first half of the season on practice squads. Still only 22 years old, Estime is buying himself time to get established in the NFL, but he still probably mostly profiles as a special teamer if he’s going to make a 53-man roster out of camp. Considering the Saints’ issues at running back, it could very well be in New Orleans.

Chandler was active for this meaningless Week 18 finale and served as the 1B option behind Jordan Mason, who had 94 yards on 13 rushing attempts. The veteran running back is a free agent and will likely play elsewhere in 2026 unless the Vikings bring him back on a short-term deal.

The team opted not to place Kamara on injured reserve, though he has been sidelined since Week 12. Unless something drastic occurs, Saints RB Audric Estime will start in Kamara’s stead against the Falcons on Sunday. Both teams have been eliminated from the playoffs, but it still gives coaches a chance to evaluate key players one last time.

Kamara has neither practiced nor played since spraining his MCL in Week 12. He was already dealing with an ankle injury at that time. We expect him to remain sidelined in Week 18 against the Falcons. Saints RB Audric Estime will again operate as the team’s starter.

Estime ceded the first carry of the day to Taysom Hill. After Hill easily out-carried him last week, it looked like that would be the case again versus Tennessee. The Saints quickly threw in the towel on Hill and handed the backfield over to Estime. He punctuated a solid day with a 32-yard sprint into the end zone in the fourth quarter. The touchdown gave New Orleans an eight-point lead that Tennessee never erased. Estime should hold this role into Week 18, giving him some RB2 juice versus the Falcons.