26 days until Saints season opener: Every player to wear No. 26

USA Today

a day ago

A Saints legend highlights a mostly unimpressive history of the No. 26
The New Orleans Saints will host the Arizona Cardinals in 26 days in their regular season opener. Veteran running back Cam Akers, a new addition to the squad, wears No. 26 for the Saints currently. Akers is in a battle for one of the running back spots and will be the 18th player in franchise history to wear No. 26 if he makes the team. Here's the full list of players.
Saints' History of No. 26
The first in a No. 26 uniform for the Saints was Jimmy Hiedel, who suited up for all 14 games of the team's inaugural 1967 campaign with 13 starts and had 1 interception. Joe Don Looney was the first offensive player to wear the number, but only did so for three games and minus-5 yards in 1969. Margene Adkins followed two years later, catching just 9 passes in 14 games of light action. The first Saints draft choice to wear No. 26 was Steve Rogers, a Round 7 pick in 1975. An LSU graduate and native of Rustin, Rogers had 62 rushing yards in his only year with the team.
Guido Merkens is best known as a versatile offensive tool, but actually started his career as a defensive back. Merkens came to New Orleans from the Houston Oilers in 1980. He played six years with the team, but only wore No. 26 during his first season before switching to his better-known 19. Merkens was among the first eight New Orleans players to wear No. 26 for two years or less, with only Willie Tullis (21 games) doing so for over a year.
That streak was finally broken by Vince Buck, a second-round pick by the Saints in the 1990 NFL draft. Buck was with New Orleans for six years and 84 games, the third-longest of any player to wear the number. He was both a corner and safety, recording 10 interceptions with a score, 12 fumble recoveries, and 4.5 sacks. After Buck followed four more players to wear No. 26 over the next six seasons, with none wearing it for more than a year. Backs Lamar Smith and Fred McAfee each had production stretches with New Orleans, but neither wore No. 26 for longer than a season before switching to other numbers.
Deuce McAllister was the 23rd selection in the first round of the 2001 NFL draft out of Mississippi. He is the highest drafted Saint to wear No. 26, with his 97 games over eight years also marking the most any Saints player has worn the No. 26 jersey. McAllister quickly made 1999 first round choice Ricky Williams expendable, forcing a trade during the 2002 offseason. Afterwards, McAllister would go on to be one of the best running backs in franchise history.
McAllister would be the first Saints running back to rush for over 1,000 yards in three straight seasons, topping the plateau in four of five years. A string of knee injuries would cut his career short. However, McAllister's career 6,096 rushing yards and 49 touchdowns on the ground were the most in franchise history until topped by Mark Ingram in 2022, then Alvin Kamara last year. A fan favorite who has worked New Orleans games as a broadcaster for years, McAllister was inducted into the Saints Hall of Fame in 2012.
Following McAllister's official retirement in 2009, no New Orleans player would wear No. 26 until P.J. Williams. A third round draft choice in 2015, Williams would be with the Saints for seven seasons. His 89 games are only bested by McAllister among the players that wore No. 26. Williams was a versatile piece of the secondary as a Saint. He had 8 interceptions, returning 2 for touchdowns, while breaking up 33 passes and recording 4 sacks.
Since Williams, Daniel Sorensen and Tra Fluellen combined for two games in the No. 26, both by Sorensen. Next up is Cam Akers, who comes to the Saints after some productive years with the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings. Injuries have slowed Akers in recent seasons, but he looks to become the power complement to Kamara that the New Orleans backfield has lacked and hopefully give the offense another viable option as a runner.