The New Orleans Saints have signed former Philadelphia Eagles running back for a cup of coffee. Audric Estime to their practice squad on Tuesday as part of a series of moves, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. New Orleans also signed RB Velus Jones Jr. to their active roster from the practice squad, and placed center Erik McCoy and running back Kendre Miller on season-ending Injured Reserve.
Estime wasn't exactly a household name in Philly, as he was signed to the practice squad at the end of the preseason and never cracked the active roster. He trailed Saquon Barkley (of course) as well as AJ Dillon, Will Shipley and new trade addition Tank Bigsby on the depth chart. Playing in Philly was more of a developmental opportunity than a real shot at seeing the field for Estime. There might be an opening in the Big Easy with a former Eagles offensive coordinator at the helm though.
Alvin Kamara Can't Eat Snaps Like He Used to, Creating Chance for Audric Estime
As fantasy football players have quickly learned, Alvin Kamara is not the snap Pac-Man he used to be. In 2025, Kamara has 94 carries. Miller, now out for the year, had 47 up until his injury. Estime could eat into that play-share and provide a physical presence to soften defenses if he can earn his keep on the practice squad. He'll be competing with former sixth-round pick Devin Neal.
Estime isn't much of a pass-catcher, but he's a good blocker to make up for it. Spencer Rattler doesn't have the best protection in front of him, so any help there is a plus.
With Kellen Moore as the head coach in New Orleans, it's hard to know how he'll look to deploy his backfield. His year with the Eagles doesn't give us many hints, because what you do with a backfield including Saquon Barkley is going to be very different than with one that doesn't.
The only game Moore coached in Philly without Saquon was a meaningless Week 18 outing in which the starters rested. So while Kenny Gainwell (11 carries) and Will Shipley (10) split the work evenly, that may have been more about the stakes of the game than about how Moore wants to operate a backfield.
Time will tell. But the former Denver Bronco and Eagle is now onto his third NFL home in two years.