The wine-and-dine budget for Travis Etienne didn't need to be substantial; pitching the New Orleans Saints to the free agent running back required very little heavy lifting.
Etienne is a native of Jennings, La. And after four college seasons at Clemson, and four NFL seasons with Jacksonville after being selected in the first round (No. 25 overall) in 2021, he figured he'd been gone lone enough. Home is where his heart is.
"Whenever the Saints reached out, I don't think there was nothing that could have stopped me from coming here," Etienne said Friday during his introductory news conference. "I wasn't thinking Saints pre-free agency, because I didn't know if they had interest or anything. But when the Saints became available it was kind of like a no-brainer to me.
"When I left for college, I never thought I'd be back here in this moment. But I'm so grateful that I am."
The feeling is likely mutual for the franchise.
Etienne (pronounced AY-chan) adds explosiveness to the Saints' backfield. Last year was his third 1,000-yard rushing season (1,107 yards and seven touchdowns on 260 carries, plus 292 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 36 catches); he totaled 3,798 yards and 25 touchdowns on 897 carries, and 1,338 and seven touchdowns on 168 catches, in 66 games (60 starts) with the Jaguars.
"We feel like this is a really good fit," Saints coach Kellen Moore said. "Really good timing. He's kind of gone through those first few years in this league, he had to navigate some stuff early in his career, got through that and I thought last year, his film was just really, really good. Felt like it was a good match.
"He's got some ability to play in the pass game, protections — he's got some there. He's still young, he's still going to keep growing, he's still going to be getting better."
Doing it with and for the Saints is the added bonus.
"I feel like I'm just a humble servant, just from being from Jennings, a small town of 10,000," Etienne said. "People will tell you not to have dreams of being here in this moment, and for me to be here in this moment — I didn't have that person to look up to growing up, to show me the way, or to be able to reach out to be able to contact and just get advice from."
Now that he's here, Etienne hopes to fill that void for the next generation. "I just want everyone to know that they can always reach out to me. I'm a real easy person to get in touch with — just to be that person, be that beacon for the community, to let kids know never stop dreaming. You can do whatever you want to do. Me standing here is a real reflection of that. I just want to be a person for them, who they can come to any time whenever they think things are too hard. I'm just here being a servant."
Etienne first shared his decision with his dad — he said his mom "can't hold ice water" — and completed a full-circle moment in a football life that has included a Black-and-Gold backdrop: He wore No. 9 in college in tribute to Saints quarterback Drew Brees and his son's name is Saint. Etienne will wear No. 3 with the Saints.
"I'm happy to be here and have my son be able to experience that same type of connection and be around his family," he said. "No. 3. It makes sense because since I left Louisiana, this is my third team. I feel like, it took me a long time to figure out this is where I needed to be all along. So, full-circle moment. I'm just happy to be here, I just want to be great."
