The Saints are 64 days from opening their 2026 season, and for now, No. 64 sits empty.
New Orleans will start the year on the road against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Sept. 13, and as training camp approaches, there isn’t a player currently assigned that jersey. Nick Saldiveri was the last Saint to wear it, doing so in 2024, but he missed 2025 and won’t play this season because of injuries.
When you look back through the Saints’ history, No. 64 has belonged to a mix of backups, starters, and a few players who barely had time to make the number their own. The list starts with linebacker Ray Hester, who wore it from 1971-73. He spent three seasons as a reserve, appeared in 27 games, recovered five fumbles and recorded a sack.
Andy Maurer followed in 1974, but only for five games. Then came Dave Lafary, the first New Orleans draft pick to wear No.
- A fifth-round pick in the 1977 NFL Draft, Lafary played nine seasons with the Saints and logged 109 games, mostly as a backup.
That makes him the second-highest Saints draft choice to wear the number, and he also has the second-most games by any player in it.
After Lafary, the jersey bounced around. Ted Elliott wore it in 1987 as a replacement player during the players strike, appearing in three games.
Scott Adams had it in 1994 as a reserve offensive lineman for 11 games. Robert Newkirk then wore it in 1999, showing up in five games as a backup.
Kendyl Jacox finally gave No. 64 some stability from 2002-05. He started at left guard and played in 56 games over four seasons.
But the standard for the number in New Orleans is Zach Strief. The seventh-round pick from the 2006 NFL Draft spent his first five seasons as a reserve lineman before taking over at right tackle in 2011.
He held that job for the next six years and became a standout blocker for one of the most successful offenses in NFL history. His 158 games are the most by any Saints player to wear No.
Will Clapp, also a seventh-round pick, wore it next after being selected 245th overall in 2018. He didn’t reach Strief’s level, but he gave the Saints four seasons of solid depth along the interior offensive line.
Saldiveri came after Clapp, and his run has been hampered by injuries and ineffective play. The Saints made him a fourth-round pick in 2023, making him the highest-drafted New Orleans player to wear No. 64, but he has only 15 appearances through his first two seasons. He missed all of 2025 with an injury and was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list this spring with another season-ending injury.
Unless the Saints add someone in training camp or make a preseason number change, No. 64 will stay unused in 2026.
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