Pete Werner is wasting no time showing what life without Demario Davis can look like for the Saints defense.
With Davis no longer lining up beside him, Werner opened the 2026 season with a bigger job on his hands, and through two games he has answered it well. The Saints linebacker turned in one of the biggest defensive performances in Sunday’s 24-17 win over the Baltimore Ravens, piling up a team-high 11 total tackles, eight of them solo. He also added a sack, three total pressures, a tackle for loss and a defensive stop.
The pass-rush work stood out just as much as the tackle count. Werner earned a 79.6 pass-rush grade from Pro Football Focus, a strong sign that he is giving New Orleans more than just steady play in the middle of the defense.
That mattered in a game the Saints needed to flip. New Orleans fell behind 14-3, then watched the defense help steady the afternoon as Baltimore was held to only three points after halftime. Werner was in the middle of that turnaround, and he was around the ball all day in a way that looked familiar from the season opener against the Detroit Lions.
For the Saints, the early returns are encouraging. Werner appears ready to handle the extra responsibility and give New Orleans a versatile veteran presence alongside Kaden Elliss. He is contributing against the run, getting after the quarterback and looking like a player who is settling into a larger role.
It is still a small sample, but Werner has opened his sixth season strongly and seems to be moving past the inconsistency that marked the early part of his career.
In Other News...
Saints May Be Catching Raiders At A Much Worse Time
The Saints could be facing a tougher version of the Raiders than the one that has opened the season 2-0 without Brock Bowers. According to ESPNs Dan Graziano, the rookie tight end is more likely than not to be on the field when Las Vegas meets New Orleans in Week 3, which would give the Raiders another dangerous weapon in an offense that has already found early success.
Bowers status is still not locked in, though, and that leaves the Saints watching practice closely before game week settles in. If he does suit up, it would change the complexion of a matchup that already looked tricky for New Orleans, especially against a team that has shown it can win even while waiting for one of its most important playmakers to return. [Read more 🡒]
Terron Armsteads Tyler Shough Praise Should Fire Up Saints Fans
Terron Armsteads name still carries plenty of weight in New Orleans, and the former Saints tackle gave fans a reason to perk up this week when he spoke glowingly about Tyler Shough. On NFL on CBS, the five-time Pro Bowler said he has been impressed enough by the rookie quarterbacks leadership and competitiveness to even think about un-retiring, a striking compliment from a player who has been away from the game for two years.
For a Saints team still searching for every sign that its quarterback room is headed in the right direction, praise like that matters. Armstead spent enough time around winning football to know when a player has the traits that travel, and his reaction to Shough suggests the rookie has made an impression beyond the building. Whether it leads to anything more is another matter, but it is the kind of feedback that should land well with a fan base eager for reasons to believe. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Pass Protection Just Got A Lot More Concerning After Banks Injury
Kelvin Banks Jr.s ankle injury has quickly turned into a major concern for New Orleans, and not just because it comes on the offensive line. The Saints left tackle went down against the Baltimore Ravens, and what first sounded like a 4-6 week absence has since shifted into something far more serious, with the possibility he could miss the rest of the season.
For a team already trying to hold things together up front, that leaves a thin margin for error in pass protection. New Orleans has added Mason Murphy at tackle to help absorb the loss, but the bigger question is how the Saints will keep the pocket stable in the weeks ahead while Banks recovery timeline remains uncertain. [Read more 🡒]