For the first time in nearly a decade, Travis Etienne and Trevor Lawrence are no longer on the same team.

The former Clemson stars have been united for the last eight seasons, including three at Clemson and five with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Together, they helped lead the Tigers to three straight ACC Championships and three consecutive College Football Playoff appearances from 2018-20, as well as the 2018 CFP national championship. And this past season, they helped the Jaguars to a 13-4 regular season record en route to the franchise’s first AFC South title since 2022 and first playoff appearance since the same year.

Now, Etienne – Clemson’s and the ACC’s all-time leading rusher — is a member of the New Orleans Saints after leaving the Jaguars to return home to his native of Louisiana on a four-year, $52 million deal with the Saints. Meanwhile, Lawrence of course remains the franchise quarterback for the Jaguars. The 2021 No. 1 overall pick signed a five-year, $275 million contract extension with Jacksonville prior to the 2024 season.

During his introductory press conference with the Saints on Friday, Etienne discussed not having Lawrence as his QB for the first time in eight years.

“Honestly, I feel like it’s going to be very different,” Etienne said. “I feel like it hasn’t really hit me yet. I feel like it will probably hit me whenever I’m in training camp and I look over and I’m like, ‘This is not Trevor.’ Because just being with him for eight years, you kind of just grow to understand, like, ‘That’s my QB.’ But I feel like I’m excited for both our journeys. Because I feel like we did a lot of great things together, but I feel like both of us, our best football is ahead of us. And I feel like that’s what I’m more excited about.”

The 2025 campaign marked the final year of Etienne’s rookie contract, with Etienne playing on his fifth-year option after being selected by the Jaguars with the 25th overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft.

This past season, Etienne surpassed 1,000 yards rushing for the third time in his four active seasons after missing his entire 2021 rookie campaign due to a season-ending Lisfranc injury he suffered in that preseason. He ran for 1,107 yards and seven touchdowns on 260 carries in 2025, while also catching 36 passes for 292 yards and six scores.

The 27-year-old Etienne ranked 11th in the NFL in rushing yards this past season and 17th in the league in yards from scrimmage with 1,399. He accounted for a career-high 13 total touchdowns.

Overall, in 66 career NFL games from 2022-25, Etienne has rushed for 3,798 yards and 25 touchdowns on 897 carries while also catching 168 passes for 1,338 yards and seven more scores.

Etienne says he didn’t need any convincing during the free agency process to join the Saints – it’s a dream come true for him to head back home for the next chapter of his NFL career and play for the team he grew up rooting for in Jennings, La.

“Whenever I left for college, I never thought I’d be back here in this moment. But I’m so grateful that I am, and just blessed to be here,” Etienne said.

“Whenever the Saints reached out, I don’t think there was nothing that could have stopped me from coming here, honestly,” he added. “I wasn’t thinking Saints pre-free agency, because I didn’t know if they had interest or anything. But whenever the Saints became available, it was kind of like a no-brainer to me.”

When Etienne first agreed to join the Saints, he only told his dad at first, and he explained why – because his mom, apparently, can’t keep a secret.

“I told my dad. I couldn’t tell my mom because she can’t hold ice water. Like, she can’t hold ice water,” Etienne said with a big smile. “It was like the day before, I had called her, and she was just telling me and talking to me and just giving me history on our family and about how my great grandmother was a Saints fan, how that’s all she would play, and that’s how it kind of trickled down into us watching the Saints each and every Sunday.

“It was like a full-circle moment because she’s telling me all those things, but she don’t know that I’m even thinking about going to the Saints. Because all along on social media, [all] they had was [me going to] the Chiefs and the Broncos. So, she really has no idea, but I think she was kind of pitching her case, you know. But in reality, it was happening, but I couldn’t let her know because she would’ve let everyone know.”

Etienne wearing the No. 1 jersey with the Jaguars has become a familiar sight since he entered the league, but he says he doesn’t want to wear No. 1 with the Saints and instead wants to switch to No. 3.

“I want to switch the jersey. I feel like [No.] 1, it was a cool number, but I feel like I’m a different person, different player,” Etienne said. “I feel like I’ve matured, I’ve kind of grown and I’ve grown into a man, I’ve become my own. I got my own son now and life has changed, and I feel like that chapter has passed. And I feel like I want a number here that I can create my own and leave a legacy, and hopefully be retired up there one day. That’s the goal, to leave a legacy, and I feel like that’s why I’m here and that’s why they brought me here.”

Aside from the fact that he’s going back home to play for his childhood favorite team, making Etienne’s free agency match with the Saints even more fitting is the fact that he has a son named … Saint.

“He’s 11 months. He’ll be one year old April 3,” Etienne said. “I feel like all the stars aligned. This is a dream I couldn’t even dream of.”

You can check out some of the highlights from Etienne’s introductory press conference below: