Officially, the New Orleans Saints are one of a handful of teams in the league that don’t have retired jersey numbers. Team representatives have explained several times to media members that the NFL frowns upon the practice of retiring jerseys. Eventually, the logic goes, franchises will run out of numbers. Young players will be limited in options and the league is already making single-digit number exceptions for some position groups.
The team is already starting to honor Drew Brees and the Super Bowl-winning squad. Furthermore, the city has suffered through Bounty-gate retaliation and un-thrown flags already. What else is Roger Goodell going to do, especially with the precedent set already?
The Chicago Bears have retired 14 jersey numbers. The New York Giants have retired 12, bestowing the honor on Eli Manning (10) and Michael Strahan (92) just last year. NFC South rivals like the Carolina Panthers, who joined the NFL in 1995, have gone against those frowned-upon wishes as well. They retired 51 for the late Sam Mills back in 2005.
So who are the 10 most deserving Saints for a jersey retirement?
Saints quarterbacks lead the way
Every NFL team's season rests on the health and talent of their quarterback. The players under center are perhaps the most crucial in professional sports. Leaving individual sports out of the equation, no other position leaves teams more dependent on the production of one single player out of 22, 11, or even five. That is why the QB1s lead the way on this list.
Drew Brees (9) was just inducted into the Saints Hall of Fame. The Superdome's Ring of Honor is incomplete without the name of the QB who led a Super Bowl run. Brees was 151-94 (.616) in the Big Easy, by far the best mark of any signal-caller in Saints history. No one with a Fleur-de-Lis on their helmet should ever consider wearing number 9 again. In fact, Brees should have a ‘9' raised right next to the Super Bowl champions banner.
Archie Manning (8) was on the other end of the winning spectrum but will be loved in New Orleans forever. Another Louisiana-born product, Manning led the Bayou Boys through some dark days with a head-held-high pride that represented a Boot State upbringing. Sandwiching the Super Bowl banner between the 8 and 9 for Manning and Brees makes too much sense.
Born in Galliano, Bobby Hebert (3) is Louisiana through and through. The ‘Cajun Cannon' graduated from South Lafourche High before moving on to Northwestern State (Natchitoches, LA). He also guided the team to back-to-back NFL playoff appearances in 1991 and 1992. Jake Haener has much to live up to as a backup QB, which is where Hebert started his NFL career. The problem with Herbert's candidacy is a 1990 season-long sit-out due to a contract dispute, eventually playing for the Atlanta Falcons, and some occasionally critical comments on New Orleans WWL Sports Talk shows.
Dome Patrol did more than enough
The Dome Patrol did more than enough to be honored together as a group. It would take one popular linebacker number off the board (56) but the NFL just opened up single-digit numbers to the group. There is a nice give and take to be had here, and if some hyped-up rookie is brave enough to ask for the number, perhaps that's a good sign. Leave it up to the team's Hall of Famers to decide though.
Sam Mills (51) deserves to have his number retired with two teams based on character alone. His off-the-field contributions are countless. His on-the-field scrappiness was a thing of legend. Sorry, it's time to shed the Five-One Cesar Ruiz.
Rickey Jackson (57) is still active in the community and even helps run local basketball leagues. Niko Lalos currently wears 57 but the undrafted prospect out of Dartmouth may never see the field on Sundays. The same goes for rookie fifth-round pick Jaylan Ford, who is trying to do his best Vaughn Johnson (53) impersonation during training camp.
Pat Swilling (56) will surely be fine with Demario Davis finishing out his career in the Black and Gold's 56 uniform though. After that, the Dome Patrol's digits are done being used by special teamers.
Saints celebrate Special
There are special team players and special plays that will always live on in New Orleans. The NFL record books will look a lot different without a stubbed-toed kicker with a boxer's name or a Danish sensation.
Morten Andersen (7) made six Pro Bowls and played an NFL record 382 regular season games. The Great Dane knocked'em through the upright for 25 years, an accomplishment in any profession, with 13 of those seasons played with the Saints. He is now second in field goals (565) and points scored (2,544) all-time and is the all-time leading scorer for the Saints (1,318 points).
Steve Gleason's 37 should be protected at all costs, way better than the Atlanta Falcons protected their punter back in 2006 that's for sure. Calling Gleason's highlight ‘The Block That Saved The Big Easy's Soul From Surrendering' is not an understatement. It should be understood that the 37 jersey is beyond untouchable. Gleason's 37 is downright sacred. The Saints should honor that sooner rather than later.
One of the Road
Louisiana Tech's Willie Roaf (77) cleared the road and protected the blindside of whoever was in the New Orleans backfield for nine seasons. He was named to the NFL's All-Decade Team for both the 1990s and the 2000s. Roaf will never have to pay for a tall pour in New Orleans again. His number 77 should be set aside like the keys to any vehicle for those celebrating Roaf's time in the Crescent City. Raise a glass to Saints history, and raise a Banner for the big guy who kept those quarterbacks clean. Roaf was leading the way to the team's first-ever NFL Playoffs win after all.
It's hard to make a case for anyone beyond those ten names. However, it's even more difficult to argue against anyone listed above. The Saints have enough headaches as it is. Retiring the numbers of these players would earn the executives a lot of goodwill.
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