Andrew Whitworth didn’t need to dress up his assessment of the Saints after watching their joint practice with the Rams. The former LSU offensive tackle came away feeling like New Orleans was not just competing, but fitting in.
Whitworth said the Saints "looked like they belonged." For a young team still sorting itself out, that kind of remark matters. It’s a simple line, but it carries weight, especially coming from someone there with the Rams who still had a close eye on the other sideline.
Tyler Shough was the player Whitworth singled out most. "I really liked him," Whitworth said of Shough. After practice, Whitworth, Shough and Matthew Stafford got together and talked ball, and Whitworth said he left impressed by Shough’s football intellect and the way the Saints quarterback carries his passion for the game.
That matters because the Saints are being talked about like a team on the rise, even if the roster is still packed with young players. The offseason buzz has pushed expectations up fast. Fans have seen the quarterback room, watched the additions in free agency and the draft, and started thinking about the postseason as something close to the standard.
That’s how New Orleans has ended up in an odd spot: not quite a finished product, but not always being viewed like a rebuilding team either. The fast climbs by the Washington Commanders and New England Patriots have only blurred that picture more.
Still, Whitworth’s comments point to something real. Looking like they belonged against the Rams is progress. And it’s a meaningful contrast with what happened in Week 9 a year ago, when the Saints were thoroughly beaten by Los Angeles and managed just 16:07 of time of possession.
That’s the backdrop that makes Whitworth’s reaction stand out. He wasn’t describing a team that got overwhelmed. He was describing one that held its own against a Super Bowl favorite.
For the Saints, that kind of showing is one more sign they’re moving in the right direction in the second year of the Kellen Moore era. They may not need to become the next Patriots or Commanders to make this season matter. But if they keep looking like they belong, that’s a strong place to start.
In Other News...
Saints Fans Should Start Watching LSU For One Very Familiar Reason
The Saints pipeline to Baton Rouge has been a little easier to follow lately, and it is not hard to see why Louisiana football fans are paying attention. New Orleans has leaned into familiar roots in free agency, adding players with local ties, while LSU keeps producing talent that fits the kind of roster-building the Saints need as they look ahead. After LSUs convincing win over Clemson, the conversation around that team got even more interesting for Saints watchers.
Three names in particular stand out as possible future fits: Jordan Ross, Whit Weeks and TreyDez Green. They are still a long way from the NFL Draft, with 2027 the target, but each brings something the Saints could use down the line as they sort through positional needs and keep an eye on the next wave of LSU prospects. For now, it is another reminder that if you want to get a sense of where the Saints might shop next, the answer could be in plain sight on Saturdays in Baton Rouge. [Read more 🡒]
Former Rams DT Keeps Finding His Way Back Into The NFL
Jonah Williams is back on the Saints practice squad, another familiar stop in a career that has taken the veteran defensive tackle through plenty of NFL doorways. Kellen Moore announced the re-signing, adding a player New Orleans already knows well after Williams spent time with the team in 2025 and carved out a role on the interior defensive line.
Williams, 30, has long been one of those players who keeps finding a way to stick in the league, cycling through practice squads and futures deals with the Rams, Vikings, Lions and Cardinals along the way. His return gives the Saints another experienced option up front, and it also leaves open the question of whether this latest stay is just another brief stop or the start of something more lasting. [Read more 🡒]
Saints No. 6 Suddenly Carries Far More Meaning This Season
The jersey number has not exactly been one of the Saints most famous identifiers over the years, but that is starting to change. As New Orleans prepares to open its 2026 regular season against the Lions, Tyler Shough is set to enter his second year as the unquestioned starter, and the No. 6 on his back suddenly carries a much different feel than it ever did for punters Tommy Barnhardt and Thomas Morstead, the short-lived cluster of kickers who wore it in 2021, or recent defenders Marcus Maye and Willie Gay.
Shough, drafted in 2025, is the first quarterback in franchise history to wear No. 6, which gives the number a new place in the Saints identity if he becomes what the organization believes he can be. For a team that has seen the number bounce from special teams to the secondary and linebacker spots, this season is the first real chance for No. 6 to mean something bigger than a roster detail, and the opener will be the first test of how that new significance looks on the field. [Read more 🡒]