With the Saints nine days from their 2026 regular-season opener at the Detroit Lions, No. 9 sits empty in New Orleans - and it feels like a number that should stay that way. Before Drew Brees turned it into Saints royalty, a handful of others wore it, but none left anything close to the same footprint.
The first Saints No. 9 was kicker Happy Feller, who spent 1972 and 1973 with the team. The results were rough: he connected on just 10 of 23 field goal tries, a 43.5% mark. After that, the jersey disappeared for 16 years before punter George Winslow briefly brought it back in 1989, appearing in only five games.
Quarterback Tommy Kramer followed in 1990 after a long run with the Minnesota Vikings. His Saints stay was brief, too - just one game, in which he completed 1 of 3 passes for 2 yards and threw an interception.
Jake Delhomme, a Lafayette native and Louisiana Ragin Cajuns star, wore No. 9 in 1999 after a stint in NFL Europe. He actually split his Saints time between Nos. 9 and 12, but it was No. 9 he wore during that season.
Delhomme made two starts in the jersey, going 1-1 while completing 42 of 76 passes for 521 yards with three touchdowns and five interceptions. He also holds the distinction of being the last player to wear No. 9 before Brees.
Then came the era that changed everything. In 2006, Sean Payton named Brees his quarterback, and the former San Diego Chargers and Purdue Boilermakers standout arrived in New Orleans while still recovering from reconstructive shoulder surgery. What followed was one of the defining runs in franchise history: Brees led the NFL with 4,418 passing yards in his first season with the Saints and took New Orleans to the NFC Championship Game.
Across 15 seasons in New Orleans, Brees helped the Saints post a 142-86 regular-season record, make nine playoff appearances, win seven division titles, reach three NFC title games, and capture Super Bowl XLIV. His place in NFL history was just as towering. There have been 15 seasons of 5,000-plus passing yards in league history, and Brees produced five of them, including a 5,476-yard season in 2011 that broke a 27-year NFL single-season record.
By the time he retired after the 2020 season, Brees owned the NFL career records for passing yards, touchdowns, completions, attempts, and completion percentage. He was also inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2026 as a first-ballot selection.
In Other News...
Saints Suddenly Have A Defensive Tackle Battle Worth Watching
The Saints went into the offseason with real questions along the interior of their defense, especially after Bryan Bresees season-ending injury left the defensive tackle room thinner than expected. Drafting Christen Miller in the second round was part of the answer, and the rookie has done his part by standing out in the preseason and making the conversation about the starting lineup a lot more interesting than it looked a few months ago.
Davon Godchaux still brings the veteran presence New Orleans wanted, but the competition around him has turned into one of the more watchable camp battles on the roster. After the 53-man roster deadline, the Saints added Colby Wooden to give the group more depth, a move that underscores how much the team still wants to protect itself at a position where one injury can change the entire rotation. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Just Addressed A Roster Concern Fans Couldn't Ignore
The Saints took a practical step to shore up a thin spot in the secondary by adding Decamerion Richardson, giving them another body at outside cornerback after the group had been stretched alarmingly tight. With Isaac Yiadom gone, New Orleans was left leaning on a top three of Kool-Aid McKinstry, Quincy Riley and Martin Emerson, while backups Mike Reid and Jayden Price were handling other responsibilities more than true cornerback work.
Richardson brings the kind of profile teams like in this situation, with size, athleticism and special teams experience that can help him stick while the defense sorts out its depth chart. The move doesnt settle the longer-term question of how the Saints want to arrange the back end of the defense, but it at least gives them another option at a position where every available corner has become worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Cameron Jordan Just Landed In A Saints Debate Fans Know Too Well
Bill Barnwells latest pressure list for 2026 put Khalil Mack in familiar veteran company, but it also nudged Cameron Jordan back into the kind of conversation Saints fans know all too well. Alongside Cameron Heyward and Mack, Jordan remains one of the old-guard edge defenders whose career has been defined not just by longevity, but by the lingering pull of a championship chase that never quite gets old. It is the sort of framing that turns a respected veteran into a referendum on how much more he has left, and how much longer he is willing to push for one last run.
Mack is entering his 13th NFL season and has openly contemplated retirement, yet the lure of a Super Bowl is still driving him forward with the Chargers, who have not won a playoff game since 2018. For New Orleans, the comparison is hard to miss because Jordan has lived in that same space for years: the established star whose name still carries weight, the player fans still want to see produce, and the veteran whose next chapter always seems to come with a little extra debate attached. [Read more 🡒]