Julian Blackmon didn’t need much time to learn how fragile an NFL season can be.
One game into his first year with the New Orleans Saints, the veteran safety’s season was already on the brink. Blackmon played every defensive snap in the Saints’ opening loss to the Arizona Cardinals, piled up seven tackles and added a pass breakup, then found out the next day that the right shoulder injury he’d played through was a posterior labrum tear. That diagnosis sent him to injured reserve and wiped out the rest of his season.
Now back on the field and healthy, Blackmon says that kind of gut punch changes a player.
“I feel like that’s exactly how I approached the offseason-just humbly,” Blackmon said after practice. “Because something that’s given to you can be just as quickly taken away.”
That perspective has been shaped by more than just last year’s injury. Blackmon described his career as one built through “trials and errors” and “a lot of hardships,” but also gratitude. For him, simply getting back into pads with his teammates has carried real weight.
“For me, obviously, my career has been trials and errors. A lot of hardships, but at the same time, a lot of gratitude,” he said.
“So just being out there with my guys again, remembering what it feels like to be in pads again, it’s a blessing. That’s how I approached the offseason and how I approach the season coming up.”
Blackmon also believes he gave the Saints enough last summer to keep their faith in him intact. Even though his regular season was cut short, he said his training camp showed the coaching staff what he could bring over a full year.
“I felt like I was doing really well in training camp last year,” Blackmon said. “The coaches felt like I did enough and they saw enough to know that if I came back and was able to get a full season, things would be really good. It’d benefit the whole team.”
That belief has helped fuel his outlook heading into 2026, his second season in New Orleans. Blackmon said he’s excited for the chance to contribute after losing almost all of last year.
“We like to say, ‘Together we eat,’ and I’m excited for my opportunity this year because I feel like we can do that with me on the field,” he said.
He’s also eyeing bigger things alongside Justin Reid. Blackmon thinks the Saints’ safety pairing has a chance to become one of the league’s best, especially with both players now entering their second season under defensive coordinator Brandon Staley.
“It’s a possibility,” Blackmon said when asked if he and Reid can become one of the league’s top safety duos. “I feel like both of us have a good understanding of what we want to get done.
Year two under Staley helps a lot. We feel a lot more comfortable.”
For Blackmon, that comfort comes from communication as much as anything else.
“There’s a lot of different caveats that we have in each coverage, but because we are very communicative with each other, it makes it a lot easier,” he said. “That’s something that I don’t see too out of reach for us to go for.”
After everything that happened last season, Blackmon isn’t treating this opportunity lightly anymore. And if he can stay on the field, the Saints think they’ll finally get the player they signed a year ago.
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