McCarthy's roster additions say everything about the offense he wants to run. The quarterback question is still open. And Indiana just signed a stadium bill that changed the conversation in Springfield.
Week two of free agency opened Monday without the quarterback question in Pittsburgh being answered, and I want to spend this morning talking about why that unanswered question is the most interesting story in the league right now. Here is what Pittsburgh has done in the first week and a half of the new league year: they traded for Michael Pittman Jr. from Indianapolis and signed him to a three-year, $59 million contract. They signed Rico Dowdle, who rushed for 1,076 yards in Carolina last season, as their primary back. They re-signed Cameron Heyward on a two-year extension. They brought in Jamel Dean from Tampa Bay for the secondary. Pittman, notably, played under Mike McCarthy in Dallas.
The kid from Jennings, Louisiana signed with New Orleans on Friday. Georgia opens spring practice tomorrow. Pittsburgh's quarterback question is coming. Ten things to watch this week.
Travis Etienne is home. I want to say that again, because I think some people read that transaction line on Friday afternoon and moved on to the next item. Travis Etienne — the kid from Jennings, Louisiana, who drove two hours to Baton Rouge to play college football, who became one of the best running backs in the country, who got drafted by Jacksonville and played five years in Florida — signed with the New Orleans Saints and is going home.
Underneath every contract structure is a human decision. Etienne made the home decision. The Cowboys made the window-is-open decision. Atlanta made a decision that requires a lot of other decisions to follow.
Day four of the new league year, and I want to start with the transaction that tells you the most about how this league operates when it is moving at full speed. Travis Etienne just signed with the New Orleans Saints. The kid from Jennings, Louisiana — eight hours from the Superdome — who went to Clemson, got drafted by Jacksonville, spent five years in Florida, and is now home. He called it "more than a cherry on top." I've been in this business for twenty-five years, and I have watched enough of these signings to know when a player's voice changes in the press conference. Etienne's voice changed. He was trying very hard to sound like a businessman and not quite managing it.
He grew up in Jennings. He went to Clemson, got drafted by Jacksonville, spent five years in Florida. And now he is home. That is the whole thing right there.
Travis Etienne drove back to Louisiana. I want you to think about that for a second. He grew up in Jennings. He went to Clemson, four hours away. He got drafted by Jacksonville, four more hours in the other direction. He spent five years in Florida, which is fine, Florida is fine, but it is not home. And now he signed with New Orleans, and he is going home.
He called it 'more than a cherry on top.' The Saints add a proven lead back whose production decline in Jacksonville was organizational. New Orleans is betting on the player, not the recent numbers.
Travis Etienne signed with the New Orleans Saints on Friday, returning the running back to his home state of Louisiana after five seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Etienne, who grew up in Jennings, Louisiana, described the signing as "more than a cherry on top" in comments reported by NFL.com. The former Clemson standout was selected by Jacksonville in the first round of the 2021 draft and went on to become one of the AFC South's most productive backs over four active seasons, including a career year in 2023 that established him as a legitimate top-ten back in the league.