With 58 days left before the New Orleans Saints kick off the 2026 season, the countdown lands on No. 58: Chris Rumph II.
The Saints open on the road against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Sept. 13, and Rumph is back in the mix after doing enough in 2025 to earn another one-year deal this offseason. New Orleans originally brought him in last offseason for depth, and he turned that opportunity into a return trip.
Rumph is 27, from Gainesville, Fla., and came out of Duke as a 6-foot-2, 244-pound edge rusher. He posted a Relative Athletic Score of 5.11, was drafted in the fourth round with the 118th overall pick in 2021 by the Chargers, and now carries five years of NFL experience. His 2026 salary cap hit is $2 million.
At F.W. Buchholz High School, Rumph earned All-State recognition before choosing Duke over offers from Appalachian State, Vanderbilt, and UCF. He arrived in college with some buzz, was named a freshman All-American by USA Today, and finished his Blue Devils career with 17.5 sacks, 35 tackles for loss, and 125 combined tackles in 36 games.
The NFL has been a tougher climb. Rumph hasn’t matched that college production, but he has carved out value, and familiarity with Saints defensive coordinator Brandon Staley has clearly mattered.
Staley drafted Rumph in 2021 when he was the Chargers’ head coach, and Rumph spent his first three seasons in Los Angeles playing in that system. A broken bone in his foot cut his 2023 season short, and a foot injury ended his 2024 campaign before it started.
New Orleans signed him to a veteran minimum deal in the 2025 offseason, and Rumph responded by showing up in every game. He didn’t start, but he logged 330 defensive snaps, the most of his career, plus another 351 on special teams.
The production backed up the role: 2 sacks, 4 QB hits, 47 tackles, and 3 tackles for loss. The Saints also got the kind of run defense they were looking for.
That was enough to keep him around.
Now the challenge gets harder. The Saints’ edge room includes Chase Young, Cameron Jordan, and Carl Granderson, and the team also added Tyree Wilson in a trade, signed Anfernee Jennings, and brought in Michael Heldman as an undrafted rookie. The competition for the remaining spots figures to be tight, but Rumph’s versatility gives him a real shot to stay in the conversation.
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