Help is on the way at running back, but it may not be coming from where New Orleans Saints fans expected. On Tuesday, the team announced that they claimed Audric Estime off of waivers from the Cleveland Browns -- reuniting with a player the Saints never should have cut in the first place. Estime signed with New Orleans late last year, ran hard down the stretch, and did well throughout training camp and the preseason until he was injured trying to catch a bad pass from Spencer Rattler. The Saints initially tried stashing him on injured reserve before releasing him with an injury settlement. Now he's back.
Ironically, Estime was only available because the team the Saints are about to play next decided to let him go. Estime appeared in a single
game with Cleveland but scored a crucial fourth-quarter touchdown run to give them a shot at the game-winning field goal. He's a hard-nosed runner with some real speed, and he could play right away given his experience in Kellen Moore's offense.
For now, the Saints have four running back on the 53-man roster between Estime, Alvin Kamara, Kendre Miller, and CJ Donaldson, with two more on the practice squad (Zamir White and Jarquez Hunter). One of their biggest free agent additions, Travis Etienne Jr., is now eligible to return from injured reserve and could do so as soon as this week. It's tough to see New Orleans rostering five running backs so don't be shocked if someone is on the move if Etienne is ready to play. Miller's name has reportedly come up in trade talks, and we have some ideas about which teams may be calling.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints reunite with their preseason rushing leader Audric Estime
