Travaris Cadet welcomes Saints running back competition

Travaris Cadet has been in this position before.

Primed for training camp, ready for a battle on a New Orleans Saints roster loaded with talented running backs. Every other back on the roster — Mark Ingram, Tim Hightower, C.J. Spiller, Marcus Murphy and Daniel Lasco — required a key investment from the Saints, whether it was a free-agent contract or a draft pick.

Cadet is far from deterred. Back in New Orleans after a trying year that forced him through false starts in New England and San Francisco, Cadet flashed his potential as a satellite back at the end of the season, only to land in one of the most heavily-contested spots on the team.

"It's always been like that. From my rookie year, when it was me, Chris Ivory, Pierre Thomas, Mark Ingram, Darren Sproles, and we've got a great group now," Cadet said in an appearance Saturday at the sixth annual School Supply Give-Away and Health Fair at Mildred Osborne School. "It's a competitive group, but I think that's going to bring the best out of all of us."

Cadet feels comfortable in New Orleans, the city where he rose from an undrafted free agent out of Appalachian State into a back who kept earning and holding a spot as a kick returner and pass-catcher out of the backfield.

After a year spent away, being with the Saints feels right.

"This is my home," Cadet said. "I was here three years before I left, and I didn't want to leave, but sometimes the business aspect comes into play. I'm just happy to be back. I feel like it's a great fit. I feel like there's no place that makes me feel more like home other than Miami."

Cadet thought he had moved on after signing a free-agent deal with the Patriots last offseason.

He'd always been healthy for his training-camp battles with the Saints, but Cadet hurt his hamstring early on with New England and never got the traction he needed in the Patriots' backfield. Cadet ended up playing in just one game for New England, hauling in a single pass before he was let go.

Desperate for another chance, Cadet got one with a San Francisco team riddled with injuries at running back, but he failed to carve out a key spot with the 49ers. Late in the season, he found himself looking for his third team in a single year, all after spending three full seasons with New Orleans.

All the false starts were frustrating.

Then season-ending injuries to Spiller and Murphy opened up a spot in Cadet's old stomping grounds. Offered a chance to jump into an offense he knows well, Cadet caught nine passes for 146 yards, including a 44-yard touchdown against Jacksonville in his return to the Superdome.

He knows there will be a lot of competition for touches at running back when the Saints open training camp on July 28.

Cadet is used to this kind of battle, and he tried to impart that message to the assembled children at Mildred Osborne School getting ready for another school year on Saturday.

"I went through adversity, adversity, adversity last year. You look at adversity the right way, as a positive, not a negative, and use that adversity to build strength and you'll finish strong," Cadet said. "Last year, I was knocked down a couple of times. Kept getting back up, kept getting knocked down. That's the example I want to show for these kids today."

This story was originally published July 19, 2016 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Travaris Cadet welcomes Saints running back competition."