2021_New_Orleans_Saints_season

2021 New Orleans Saints season
2021 New Orleans Saints season
Owner	Gayle Benson
General manager	Mickey Loomis
Head coach	Sean Payton
Offensive coordinator	Pete Carmichael Jr.
Defensive coordinator	Dennis Allen
Home field	Caesars Superdome; TIAA Bank Field
Results
Record	9–8
Division place	2nd NFC South
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	4 RB Alvin Kamara; DE Cameron Jordan; CB Marshon Lattimore; S J. T. Gray;
AP All-Pros	LB Demario Davis (2nd team); ST J. T. Gray (1st team)
Uniform
	← 2020; Saints seasons; 2022 →;

2021 New Orleans Saints season

55th season in franchise history

The 2021 season was the New Orleans Saints' 55th season in the National Football League (NFL), the 46th playing home games at Caesars Superdome and the 15th and final season under head coach Sean Payton. After starting the season 5–2, the Saints fell into a five game losing streak after losing starting quarterback Jameis Winston to a torn ACL in Week 8 vs. Winston's former team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They also failed to improve on their 12–4 record from the previous season, as well as failing to win the division title for the first time since 2016. Despite winning four of their last five games, the Saints missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016 after the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Los Angeles Rams in Week 18. The Saints finished tied with the Philadelphia Eagles for the 7th seed in the NFC, but lost the tiebreaker based on the teams' Week 11 head-to-head meeting—won by the Eagles. The team started a record of 58 different players (due to injuries and COVID-19) and ranked in the bottom 5 in total offense.

Quick Facts New Orleans Saints season, Owner ...

This was the first season since 2005 without long-time quarterback Drew Brees on the roster. He announced his retirement on March 14, after playing 20 years in the league. A 13-time Pro Bowler, Brees broke several records during his tenure in New Orleans, led the franchise to its first and only Super Bowl win in Super Bowl XLIV and also retired as the league's all-time leader in passing yards, a record that would be broken by quarterback Tom Brady in Week 4 of the 2021 season against his former team, the New England Patriots. Brees was also the last remaining active player from the 2001 Draft class.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Despite having three years left in his contract, this was also long-time head coach Sean Payton's final season with the Saints, as he announced his departure from the team on January 25, 2022, after 16 years of coaching the team. In his tenure, Payton led the Saints to nine playoff appearances and to the franchise's first and only Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XLIV.

Draft

More information Round, Selection ...

Notes

The Saints traded their third-round selection, along with a 2020 third-round selection, to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for the Browns' 2020 third- and seventh-round selections.^[114]
The Saints traded a conditional fifth-round selection and linebacker Kiko Alonso to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for linebacker Kwon Alexander.^[115]
The Saints received third-round selections in 2021 and 2022 as compensation when its director of pro scouting Terry Fontenot was hired by the Atlanta Falcons as general manager.^[116]
The Saints traded their sixth-round selection to the Houston Texans for the Texan's 2020 seventh-round selection.^[117]^[118]
The Saints originally forfeited their seventh-round selection as the punishment for repeated COVID-19 protocol violations during the 2020 season,^[119] but the punishment was amended to a $700,000 fine and forfeiture of their 2022 sixth-round selection.^[120]
The Saints received a seventh-round selection from the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for defensive tackle Malcom Brown.^[121]
The Saints received a third-round selection (pick 76) from the Denver Broncos in exchange for a two third-round selections (picks 98 & 105).^[122]
The Saints received a sixth-round selection (pick 206) from the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for a sixth-round selection (pick 218) and a seventh-round selection (pick 229).^[122]

Regular season

Game summaries

Standings

Conference

More information #, Team ...

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[13-4-131] Green Bay finished ahead of Tampa Bay based on conference record (9–3 vs. 8–4).

[12-5-132] Dallas finished ahead of LA Rams based on conference record (10–2 vs. 8–4).

[9-8-133] Philadelphia finished ahead of New Orleans based on head-to-head victory.

[7-10a-134] Washington finished ahead of Atlanta and Seattle based on head-to-head victories.

[7-10b-135] Seattle finished ahead of Atlanta based on win percentage in common games (4–2 vs. 3–3 against: San Francisco, New Orleans, Jacksonville, Washington, and Detroit).

[136] When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest-ranked remaining team from each division.

[HurricaneIda-1] Due to Hurricane Ida, the Saints' Week 1 game vs. the Green Bay Packers was relocated to TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida.^[126] While Caesars Superdome did not receive any direct damage, power outages were not expected to be resolved within the city of New Orleans by the day of kickoff.^[127]

[2] [1]
"Saints QB Drew Brees announces retirement after 20-year career". NFL.com. Retrieved March 14, 2021.

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"Alex Anzalone". Spotrac.com.

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"Michael Burton". Spotrac.com.

[Ken_Crawley-7] [6]
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"Bennie Fowler". Spotrac.com.

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"Justin Hardee". Spotrac.com.

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"Trey Hendrickson". Spotrac.com.

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"Sheldon Rankins". Spotrac.com.

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"Marcus Williams". Spotrac.com.

[14] [13]
"P.J. Williams". Spotrac.com.

[Will_Clapp-15] [14]
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[Alexander_Armah-16] [15]
"Alex Armah". Spotrac.com.

[17] [16]
"Nick Vannett". Spotrac.com.

[18] [17]
"Tanoh Kpassagnon". Spotrac.com.

[Jalen_McCleskey-19] [18]
"Jalen McCleskey". Spotrac.com.

[Christian_Montano-20] [19]
"Christian Montano". Spotrac.com.

[Albert_Huggins-21] [20]
"Albert Huggins". Spotrac.com.

[Sutton_Smith-22] [21]
"Sutton Smith". Spotrac.com.

[Easop_Winston-23] [22]
"Easop Winston". Spotrac.com.

[Kyle_Murphy-24] [23]
"Kyle Murphy". Spotrac.com.

[Quentin_Poling-25] [24]
"Quentin Poling". Spotrac.com.

[Brian_Poole-26] [25]
"Brian Poole". Spotrac.com.

[Kendall_Donnerson-27] [26]
"Kendall Donnerson". Spotrac.com.

[Chris_Hogan-28] [27]
"Chris Hogan". Spotrac.com.

[Tommylee_Lewis-29] [28]
"Tommylee Lewis". Spotrac.com.

[Devonta_Freeman-30] [29]
"Devonta Freeman". Spotrac.com.

[Prince_Amukamara-31] [30]
"Prince Amukamara". Spotrac.com.

[KeiVarae_Russell-32] [31]
"Keivarae Russell". Spotrac.com.

[J._R._Sweezy-33] [32]
"J. R. Sweezy". Spotrac.com.

[Adonis_Alexander-34] [33]
"Adonis Alexander". Spotrac.com.

[Josh_Pederson-35] [34]
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[Brett_Maher-36] [35]
"Brett Maher". Spotrac.com.

[R._J._McIntosh-37] [36]
"R. J. McIntosh". Spotrac.com.

[Kevin_White-38] [37]
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[Caleb_Benenoch-39] [38]
"Caleb Benenoch". Spotrac.com.

[Natrell_Jamerson-40] [39]
"Natrell Jamerson". Spotrac.com.

[Bryan_Mills-41] [40]
"Bryan Mills". Spotrac.com.

[Jordan_Mills-42] [41]
"Jordan Mills". Spotrac.com.

[Jeff_Heath-43] [42]
"Jeff Heath". Spotrac.com.

[Aldrick_Rosas-44] [43]
"Aldrick Rosas". Spotrac.com.

[Damion_Square-45] [44]
"Damion Square". Spotrac.com.

[Montravius_Adams-46] [45]
"Montravius Adams". Spotrac.com.

[Adam_Prentice-47] [46]
"Adam Prentice". Spotrac.com.

[Desmond_Trufant-48] [47]
"Desmond Trufant". Spotrac.com.

[Jordan_Miller-49] [48]
"Jordan Miller". Spotrac.com.

[Jalyn_Holmes-50] [49]
"Jalyn Holmes". Spotrac.com.

[Devine_Ozigbo-51] [50]
"Devine Ozigbo". Spotrac.com.

[Cody_Parkey-52] [51]
"Cody Parkey". Spotrac.com.

[Kenny_Stills-53] [52]
"Kenny Stills". Spotrac.com.

[Brian_Johnson-54] [53]
"Brian Johnson". Spotrac.com.

[James_Carpenter-55] [54]
"James Carpenter". Spotrac.com.

[Ka'adar_Hollman-56] [55]
"Ka'dar Hollman". Spotrac.com.

[Jaleel_Johnson-57] [56]
"Jaleel Johnson". Spotrac.com.

[Dylan_Mabin-58] [57]
"Dylan Mabin". Spotrac.com.

[Austin_Reiter-59] [58]
"Austin Reiter". Spotrac.com.

[Ryquell_Armstead-60] [59]
"Ryquell Armstead". Spotrac.com.

[61] [60]
"Forrest Lamp". Spotrac.com.

[Lamar_Miller-62] [61]
"Lamar Miller". Spotrac.com.

[Lakiem_Williams-63] [62]
"Lakiem Williams". Spotrac.com.

[Josh_Adams-64] [63]
"Josh Adams". Spotrac.com.

[Malcolm_Perry-65] [64]
"Malcolm Perry". Spotrac.com.

[66] [65]
"Sharif Finch". Spotrac.com.

[67] [66]
"Jerald Hawkins". Spotrac.com.

[Braxton_Hoyett-68] [67]
"Braxton Hoyett". Spotrac.com.

[69] [68]
"Blake Bortles". Spotrac.com.

[Justin_March-70] [69]
"Justin March". Spotrac.com.

[71] [70]
"Ethan Westbrooks". Spotrac.com.

[72] [71]
"Cohl Cabral". Spotrac.com.

[73] [72]
"Nick Easton". Spotrac.com.

[74] [73]
"Jason Vander Laan". Spotrac.com.

[75] [74]
"Cole Wick". Spotrac.com.

[76] [75]
"Jared Cook". Spotrac.com.

[77] [76]
"Josh Hill". Spotrac.com.

[78] [77]
"Thomas Morstead". Spotrac.com.

[79] [78]
"Janoris Jenkins". Spotrac.com.

[80] [79]
"Kwon Alexander". Spotrac.com.

[81] [80]
"Emmaneul Sanders". Spotrac.com.

[Eric_Burrell-82] [81]
"Eric Burrell". Spotrac.com.

[Trill_Williams-83] [82]
"Trill Williams". Spotrac.com.

[Lorenzo_Neal_Jr.-84] [83]
"Lorenzo Neal Jr". Spotrac.com.

[Lawrence_Woods-85] [84]
"Lawrence Woods". Spotrac.com.

[86] [85]
"Keith Washington". Spotrac.com.

[Stevie_Scott-87] [86]
"Stevie Scott III". Spotrac.com.

[Noah_Spence-88] [87]
"Noah Spence". Spotrac.com.

[89] [88]
"Jake Lampman". Spotrac.com.

[Mike_Brown-90] [89]
"Mike Brown". Spotrac.com.

[Nolan_Cooney-91] [90]
"Nolan Cooney". Spotrac.com.

[Derrick_Kelly-92] [91]
"Derrick Kelly II". Spotrac.com.

[Shaq_Smith-93] [92]
"Shaq Smith". Spotrac.com.

[94] [93]
"Kawaan Baker". Spotrac.com.

[Josiah_Bronson-95] [94]
"Josiah Bronson". Spotrac.com.

[96] [95]
"Grant Haley". Spotrac.com.

[Wynton_McManis-97] [96]
"Wynton McManis". Spotrac.com.

[98] [97]
"Trevor Siemian". Spotrac.com.

[Deuce_Wallace-99] [98]
"Deuce Wallace". Spotrac.com.

[100] [99]
"Ethan Wolf". Spotrac.com.

[Bryce_Thompson-101] [100]
"Bryce Thompson". Spotrac.com.

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"Marcus Willoughby". Spotrac.com.

[103] [102]
"Latavius Murray". Spotrac.com.

[Christian_Ringo-104] [103]
"Christian Ringo". Spotrac.com.

[105] [104]
"Chase Hansen". Spotrac.com.

[106] [105]
"Malcolm Roach". Spotrac.com.

[107] [106]
"J. T. Gray". Spotrac.com.

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"Ty Montgomery". Spotrac.com.

[109] [108]
"Dwayne Washington". Spotrac.com.

[Taysom_Hill-110] [109]
"Taysom Hill". Spotrac.com.

[111] [110]
"James Hurst". Spotrac.com.

[112] [111]
"Jameis Winston". Spotrac.com.

[113] [112]
"Ryan Ramczyk". Spotrac.com.

[114] [113]
"Marshon Lattimore". Spotrac.com.

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Shook, Nick (April 24, 2020). "Saints trade up, select LB Zack Baun with 74th pick". NFL.com. Retrieved April 26, 2020.

[116] [115]
"San Francisco 49ers trade LB Kwon Alexander to New Orleans Saints". ESPN.com. November 2, 2020. Retrieved November 3, 2020.

[117] [116]
Edwards, Josh (January 19, 2021). "Falcons hire Terry Fontenot as general manager, Saints to receive draft compensation". CBS Sports. Retrieved January 20, 2021.

[118] [117]
Just, Amie (April 25, 2020). "Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens". NOLA.com. Archived from the original on April 26, 2020. Retrieved January 29, 2021.

[119] [118]
Wilson, Aaron (April 25, 2020). "Texans trade seventh-round pick to Saints for 2021 sixth-rounder". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved January 29, 2021.

[120] [119]
Bergman, Jeremy (November 29, 2020). "Saints fined $500K, docked draft pick, Patriots fined $350K for COVID-19 protocol violations". NFL. Retrieved November 29, 2020.

[121] [120]
Sigler, John (March 20, 2021). "NFL leaves 2021 draft alone, but deducts 2022 Saints pick for COVID violations". USA Today. Archived from the original on March 20, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2021.

[122] [121]
Nettuno, Tyler (March 18, 2021). "Jaguars send Saints 2021 seventh-round pick for Malcom Brown". USA Today. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2021.

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"Dylan Soehner". Spotrac.com.

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[Moved-127] [126]
"Packers-Saints to play at Jacksonville's TIAA Bank Field Week 1". nfl.com. September 1, 2021.

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"Saints, NFL, and City Face Dilemmas After Hurricane Ida". SI.com.

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Position	Player	2021 team	Date signed	Contract
MLB	Alex Anzalone	Detroit Lions	March 24	1 year, $1.75 million^[4]
CB	Johnson Bademosi
FB	Michael Burton	Kansas City Chiefs	April 1	1 year, $990k^[5]
CB	Ken Crawley	New Orleans Saints	May 17	1 year, $990k^[6]
WR	Bennie Fowler	San Francisco 49ers	May 21	1 year, $990k^[7]
CB	Justin Hardee	New York Jets	March 16	3 years, $6.75 million^[8]
DE	Trey Hendrickson	Cincinnati Bengals	March 15	4 years, $60 million^[9]
DT	Sheldon Rankins	New York Jets	March 21	2 years, $17 million^[10]
MLB	Craig Robertson
FS	D. J. Swearinger	Indianapolis Colts (PS)	December 29	1 year, $28k^[11]
FS	Marcus Williams	New Orleans Saints	March 9	1 year franchise tag, $10.612 million^[12]
FS	P. J. Williams	New Orleans Saints	March 18	1 year, $2.3 million^[13]

Position	Player	2020 team	Date signed	Contract
FB	Alexander Armah	Carolina Panthers	March 16	1 year, $1.1275 million^[15]
TE	Nick Vannett	Denver Broncos	March 24	3 years, $8 million^[16]
DE	Tanoh Kpassagnon	Kansas City Chiefs	March 29	2 years, $4.5 million^[17]
WR	Jalen McCleskey	Atlanta Falcons	April 15	1 year, $660k^[18]
G	Christian Montano	Pittsburgh Steelers	April 20	1 year, $660k^[19]
DT	Albert Huggins	Detroit Lions	May 6	1 year, $780k^[20]
LB	Sutton Smith	Seattle Seahawks	May 6	1 year, $660k^[21]
WR	Easop Winston	Los Angeles Rams	May 6	1 year, $660k^[22]
OT	Kyle Murphy	Houston Texans	May 16	1 year, $850k^[23]
LB	Quentin Poling	Minnesota Vikings	May 16	1 year, $660k^[24]
CB	Brian Poole	New York Jets	July 25	1 year, $1.1275 million^[25]
DE	Kendall Donnerson	Carolina Panthers	July 26	1 year, $660k^[26]
WR	Chris Hogan	New York Jets	July 26	1 year, $1.075 million^[27]
WR	Tommylee Lewis	New Orleans Saints	July 30	1 year, $990k^[28]
RB	Devonta Freeman	Buffalo Bills	July 31	1 year, $1.075 million^[29]
CB	Prince Amukamara	Arizona Cardinals	August 1	1 year, $1.075 million^[30]
CB	KeiVarae Russell	Green Bay Packers	August 1	1 year, $920k^[31]
G	J. R. Sweezy	Arizona Cardinals	August 2	1 year, $1.075 million^[32]
CB	Adonis Alexander	San Francisco 49ers	August 4	1 year, $780k^[33]
TE	Josh Pederson	San Francisco 49ers	August 6	1 year, $660k^[34]
K	Brett Maher	Arizona Cardinals	August 9	1 year, $850k^[35]
DE	R. J. McIntosh	New York Giants	August 12	1 year, $920k^[36]
WR	Kevin White	San Francisco 49ers	August 17	1 year, $990k^[37]
T	Caleb Benenoch	Buffalo Bills	August 18	1 year, $990k^[38]
CB	Natrell Jamerson	Carolina Panthers	August 18	1 year, $920k^[39]
CB	Bryan Mills	Seattle Seahawks	August 18	1 year, $660k^[40]
T	Jordan Mills	Baltimore Ravens	August 18	1 year, $1.075 million^[41]
S	Jeff Heath	Las Vegas Raiders	August 20	1 year, $1.075 million^[42]
K	Aldrick Rosas	Jacksonville Jaguars	August 20	1 year, $990k^[43]
DT	Damion Square	Cleveland Browns	August 27	1 year, $1.075 million^[44]
DT	Montravius Adams	New England Patriots	September 1	1 year, $990k^[45]
FB	Adam Prentice	Denver Broncos	September 1	3 years, $2.435 million^[46]
CB	Desmond Trufant	Chicago Bears	September 6	1 year, $1.075 million^[47]
CB	Jordan Miller	Practice squad	September 11	1 year, $850k^[48]
DE	Jalyn Holmes	Practice squad	October 5	1 year, $920k^[49]
RB	Devine Ozigbo	Jacksonville Jaguars	October 5	1 year, $850k^[50]
K	Cody Parkey	Cleveland Browns	October 5	1 year, $990k^[51]
WR	Kenny Stills	Practice squad	October 9	1 year, $1.075 million^[52]
K	Brian Johnson	Chicago Bears	October 12	1 year, $660k^[53]
G	James Carpenter	Practice squad	December 18	1 year, $1.075 million^[54]

Position	Player	Last team	Date signed	Contract
CB	Ka'dar Hollman	Houston Texans	September 6	TBC^[55]
DE	Jalyn Holmes	Minnesota Vikings	September 6	1 year, $224k^[49]
DT	Jaleel Johnson	Houston Texans	September 6	1 year, $240k^[56]
CB	Dylan Mabin	Minnesota Vikings	September 6	1 year, $27.6k^[57]
CB	Jordan Miller	Seattle Seahawks	September 6	1 year, $147.2k^[48]
WR	Kenny Stills	Buffalo Bills	September 13	1 year, $238k^[52]
C	Austin Reiter	Kansas City Chiefs	September 14	1 year, $238k^[58]
RB	Ryquell Armstead	New York Giants	October 6	1 year, $128k^[59]
G	Forrest Lamp	Buffalo Bills	October 19	1 year, $168k^[60]
RB	Lamar Miller	Washington Football Team	October 19	1 year, $168k^[61]
LB	Lakiem Williams	Seattle Seahawks	October 19	1 year, $110.4k^[62]
RB	Josh Adams	New York Jets	November 9	1 year, $126k^[63]
WR	Malcolm Perry	New England Patriots	November 23	1 year, $64k^[64]
LB	Sharif Finch	Tennessee Titans	November 29	1 year, $55.2k^[65]
G	James Carpenter	Baltimore Ravens	December 8	1 year, $70k^[54]
T	Jerald Hawkins	New England Patriots	December 8	1 year, $70k^[66]
DT	Braxton Hoyett	Baltimore Ravens	December 22	1 year, $27.6k^[67]
QB	Blake Bortles	Green Bay Packers	December 24	1 year, $40k^[68]
LB	Justin March	San Francisco 49ers	December 27	1 year, $28k^[69]
DT	Ethan Westbrooks	Las Vegas Raiders	December 27	1 year, $28k^[70]
C	Cohl Cabral	Minnesota Vikings	December 31	1 year, $18.4k^[71]

Position	Player	2021 team	Date released
G	Nick Easton		February 12^[72]
TE	Jason Vander Laan		February 12^[73]
TE	Cole Wick		February 12^[74]
TE	Jared Cook	Los Angeles Chargers	March 3^[75]
TE	Josh Hill	Detroit Lions	March 3^[76]
P	Thomas Morstead	New York Jets	March 4^[77]
CB	Janoris Jenkins	Tennessee Titans	March 11^[78]
MLB	Kwon Alexander	New Orleans Saints	March 16^[79]
WR	Emmanuel Sanders	Buffalo Bills	March 16^[80]
S	Eric Burrell	New Orleans Saints	May 14^[81]
CB	Trill Williams	Miami Dolphins	May 14^[82]
DT	Lorenzo Neal Jr.	Denver Broncos	August 2^[83]
CB	Lawrence Woods	New Orleans Saints	August 2^[84]
DE	Kendall Donnerson	Carolina Panthers	August 5^[26]
CB	Keith Washington Jr.		August 13^[85]
CB	Prince Amukamara		August 15^[30]
RB	Stevie Scott III	Denver Broncos	August 15^[86]
DE	Noah Spence	Cincinnati Bengals	August 15^[87]
WR	Jake Lampman		August 18^[88]
CB	Lawrence Woods		August 18^[84]
G	Mike Brown		August 20^[89]
TE	Josh Pederson		August 20^[34]
CB	Adonis Alexander		August 21^[33]
K	Brett Maher	New Orleans Saints	August 21^[35]
WR	Jalen McCleskey		August 21^[18]
LB	Quentin Poling		August 21^[24]
WR	Tommylee Lewis	Miami Dolphins (PS)	August 23^[28]
P	Nolan Cooney		August 24^[90]
OT	Kyle Murphy	Practice squad	August 25^[23]
FB	Sutton Smith	Las Vegas Raiders (PS)	August 27^[21]
S	Eric Burrell		August 30^[81]
CB	Natrell Jamerson	New York Jets (PS)	August 30^[39]
G	Derrick Kelly II	Practice squad	August 30^[91]
DE	R. J. McIntosh	Green Bay Packers (PS)	August 30^[36]
LB	Shaq Smith		August 30^[92]
FB	Alexander Armah	New Orleans Saints	August 31^[15]
WR	Kawaan Baker	Practice squad	August 31^[93]
T	Caleb Benenoch	New Orleans Saints	August 31^[38]
DT	Josiah Bronson	New Orleans Saints	August 31^[94]
RB	Devonta Freeman	Baltimore Ravens (PS)	August 31^[29]
CB	Grant Haley	Los Angeles Rams (PS)	August 31^[95]
WR	Chris Hogan	New Orleans Saints	August 31^[27]
DT	Albert Huggins	New Orleans Saints	August 31^[20]
LB	Wynton McManis	Practice squad	August 31^[96]
CB	Bryan Mills	Practice squad	August 31^[40]
T	Jordan Mills	New Orleans Saints	August 31^[41]
G	Christian Montano		August 31^[19]
CB	KeiVarae Russell	New Orleans Saints	August 31^[31]
QB	Trevor Siemian	New Orleans Saints	August 31^[97]
DT	Damion Square	Chicago Bears (PS)	August 31^[44]
G	J. R. Sweezy		August 31^[32]
S	Deuce Wallace		August 31^[98]
WR	Kevin White	New Orleans Saints	August 31^[37]
WR	Easop Winston	Practice squad	August 31^[22]
TE	Ethan Wolf	Practice squad	August 31^[99]
K	Aldrick Rosas	New Orleans Saints	September 1^[43]
CB	Bryce Thompson	Practice squad	September 1^[100]
DE	Marcus Willoughby		September 1^[101]
RB	Latavius Murray	Baltimore Ravens	September 7^[102]
S	Jeff Heath	New Orleans Saints	September 10^[42]
DT	Montravius Adams	New Orleans Saints	September 11^[45]
CB	Jordan Miller	New Orleans Saints	September 13^[48]
FB	Adam Prentice	New Orleans Saints	September 14^[46]
MLB	Wynton McManis	Practice squad	September 20^[96]
CB	Jordan Miller	Practice squad	September 20^[48]
K	Aldrick Rosas	Detroit Lions (PS)	October 5^[43]
DT	Christian Ringo	New Orleans Saints	October 9^[103]
K	Cody Parkey		October 12^[51]
CB	Brian Poole	New England Patriots (PS)	October 12^[25]
CB	Desmond Trufant	Las Vegas Raiders	October 12^[47]
C	Will Clapp	New Orleans Saints	October 25^[14]
DT	Albert Huggins	New Orleans Saints	October 25^[20]
RB	Devine Ozigbo	Jacksonville Jaguars	October 30^[50]
OLB	Chase Hansen	Practice squad	November 9^[104]
DT	Christian Ringo	New Orleans Saints	November 13^[103]
DT	Montravius Adams	Practice squad	November 16^[45]
K	Brian Johnson	Chicago Bears (PS)	November 19^[53]
CB	Ken Crawley	New Orleans Saints	November 20^[6]
WR	Kevin White	New Orleans Saints	November 20^[37]
CB	KeiVarae Russell	Practice squad	November 23^[31]
FB	Alexander Armah	Washington Football Team (PS)	November 30^[15]
WR	Kevin White	Practice squad	November 30^[37]
WR	Kenny Stills	New Orleans Saints	December 7^[52]
DT	Malcolm Roach	Practice squad	December 7^[105]
C	Will Clapp	Practice squad	December 13^[14]
DT	Josiah Bronson	Cleveland Browns	December 14^[94]

Position	Player	2021 team	Date released
LB	Wynton McManis	New Orleans Saints	September 6^[96]
CB	Bryan Mills	Cleveland Browns (PS)	September 6^[40]
DT	Jaleel Johnson	Houston Texans	September 14^[56]
CB	Ka'dar Hollman	New York Giants (PS)	September 28^[55]
C	Austin Reiter	Miami Dolphins	October 5^[58]
G	Derrick Kelly II	New York Giants (PS)	October 12^[91]
LB	Wynton McManis	Miami Dolphins (PS)	October 12^[96]
RB	Ryquell Armstead	Green Bay Packers (PS)	October 28^[59]
LB	Lakiem Williams	Seattle Seahawks (PS)	October 28^[62]
RB	Lamar Miller		November 16^[61]
DT	Montravius Adams	Pittsburgh Steelers	November 29^[45]
CB	Dylan Mabin	Practice squad	December 14^[57]
RB	Josh Adams	Practice squad	December 24^[63]
DT	Braxton Hoyett	Practice squad	December 24^[67]
DT	Braxton Hoyett	Practice squad	December 28^[67]
LB	Justin March	Las Vegas Raiders	December 28^[69]
T	Kyle Murphy		December 28^[23]
WR	Malcolm Perry		December 28^[64]
RB	Josh Adams		January 4^[63]

Position	Player	Date signed
LB	Andrew Dowell	January 19
DT	Ryan Glasgow	January 19
TE	Garrett Griffin	January 19
CB	Grant Haley	January 19
OLB	Chase Hansen	January 19
WR	Lil'Jordan Humphrey	January 19
RB	Tony Jones Jr.	January 19
WR	Jake Lampman	January 19
DT	Christian Ringo	January 19
QB	Trevor Siemian	January 19
T	Calvin Throckmorton	January 19
DE	Marcus Willoughby	January 19
TE	Ethan Wolf	January 19
LB	Wynton McManis	January 20
CB	Keith Washington Jr.	January 22

Position	Player	Date signed	Contract
DE	Noah Spence	March 2	1 year, $990k^[87]
SS	J. T. Gray	March 3	2 years, $4 million^[106]
RB	Ty Montgomery	March 6	1 year, $1.1275 million^[107]
RB	Dwayne Washington	March 9	1 year, $990k^[108]
QB	Taysom Hill	March 14	1 year, $12.159 million^[109]
T	James Hurst	March 15	3 years, $9 million^[110]
QB	Jameis Winston	March 15	1 year, $5.5 million^[111]
T	Ryan Ramczyk	June 30	5 years, $96 million^[112]
CB	Marshon Lattimore	September 12	5 years, $97.6 million^[113]
QB	Taysom Hill	November 22	4 years, $40 million^[109]

Position	Player	Date retired
QB	Drew Brees	March 14
T	Alex Hoffman	May 17
DT	Ryan Glasgow	August 7
CB	Patrick Robinson	August 10
WR	Chris Hogan	October 23

Position	Player	From/to	Date traded	For
DT	Malcom Brown	Jacksonville Jaguars	March 16	2021 Seventh-round selection (pick 229) to Saints
CB	Bradley Roby	Houston Texans	September 8	2022 Third-round selection and 2023 Sixth-round selection to Texans
RB	Mark Ingram II	Houston Texans	October 27	2024 Seventh-round selection to Texans

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	28	Payton Turner	DE	Houston
2	60	Pete Werner	LB	Ohio State
3	76	Paulson Adebo	CB	Stanford	from Denver
4	133	Ian Book	QB	Notre Dame
6	206	Landon Young	OT	Kentucky	from Indianapolis
7	255	Kawaan Baker	WR	South Alabama

Position	Player	College	Date signed	Contract
DT	Josiah Bronson	Washington	May 2, 2021	3 years, $2.45 million^[94]
OL	Mike Brown	West Virginia	May 2, 2021	3 years, $2.425 million^[89]
S	Eric Burrell	Wisconsin	May 2, 2021	3 years, $2.425 million^[81]
P	Nolan Cooney	Syracuse	May 2, 2021	3 years, $2.425 million^[90]
OL	Alex Hoffman	Carroll College	May 2, 2021	3 years, $2.426 million^[123]
RB	Stevie Scott III	Indiana	May 2, 2021	3 years, $2.425 million^[86]
LB	Shaq Smith	Maryland	May 2, 2021	3 years, $2.425 million^[92]
TE	Dylan Soehner	Iowa State	May 2, 2021	3 years, $2.445 million^[124]
CB	Bryce Thompson	Tennessee	May 2, 2021	3 years, $2.425 million^[100]
CB	Trill Williams	Syracuse	May 2, 2021	3 years, $2.425 million^[82]
CB	Lawrence Woods	Truman State	May 2, 2021	3 years, $2.425 million^[84]
S	Deuce Wallace	Louisiana	May 13, 2021	3 years, $2.425 million^[98]
DT	Lorenzo Neal Jr.	Purdue	May 16, 2021	3 years, $2.425 million^[83]


	Quarterbacks 16 Ian Book 7 Taysom Hill 15 Trevor Siemian Running backs 14 Mark Ingram II 34 Tony Jones Jr. 41 Alvin Kamara 46 Adam Prentice FB 24 Dwayne Washington Wide receivers 1 Marquez Callaway 11 Deonte Harris 84 Lil'Jordan Humphrey 88 Ty Montgomery 10 Tre'Quan Smith 12 Kenny Stills Tight ends 83 Juwan Johnson 82 Adam Trautman 81 Nick Vannett		Offensive linemen 72 Terron Armstead T 77 James Carpenter G 74 James Hurst T 78 Erik McCoy C 79 Jordan Mills T 71 Ryan Ramczyk T 51 Cesar Ruiz G 76 Calvin Throckmorton T Defensive linemen 92 Marcus Davenport DE 96 Carl Granderson DE 57 Jalyn Holmes DE 94 Cameron Jordan DE 93 David Onyemata DT 70 Christian Ringo DT 99 Shy Tuttle DT		Linebackers 5 Kwon Alexander OLB 53 Zack Baun OLB 56 Demario Davis MLB 50 Andrew Dowell MLB 55 Kaden Elliss OLB 20 Pete Werner OLB Defensive backs 29 Paulson Adebo CB 25 Ken Crawley CB 22 C. J. Gardner-Johnson SS 48 J. T. Gray SS 38 Jeff Heath SS 27 Malcolm Jenkins SS 23 Marshon Lattimore CB 21 Bradley Roby CB 43 Marcus Williams FS 26 P. J. Williams FS Special teams 4 Blake Gillikin P 19 Brett Maher K 49 Zach Wood LS		Reserve lists 65 Caleb Benenoch T (COVID-19) -- Jalen Dalton DT (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 73 Ethan Greenidge T (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 45 Garrett Griffin TE (IR-DFR) 95 Albert Huggins DT (COVID-19) 90 Tanoh Kpassagnon DE (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 3 Wil Lutz K (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 75 Andrus Peat G (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 89 Dylan Soehner TE (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 13 Michael Thomas WR (PUPTooltip Physically unable to perform) 98 Payton Turner DE (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 2 Jameis Winston QB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 67 Landon Young OT (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Practice squad 80 Kawaan Baker WR 6 Blake Bortles QB (COVID-19) 68 Cohl Cabral C 64 Will Clapp C 59 Sharif Finch OLB 42 Chase Hansen MLB 63 Jerald Hawkins T 52 Braxton Hoyett DT 66 Forrest Lamp G 37 Dylan Mabin CB 36 Jordan Miller CB (COVID-19) 97 Malcolm Roach DT 35 KeiVarae Russell CB 32 Bryce Thompson CB 91 Ethan Westbrooks DT 17 Kevin White WR 18 Easop Winston WR 86 Ethan Wolf TE Rookies in italics 51 active, 13 inactive, 16 practice squad (+2 exempt)

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	August 14	at Baltimore Ravens	L 14–17	0–1	M&T Bank Stadium	Recap
2	August 23	Jacksonville Jaguars	W 23–21	1–1	Caesars Superdome	Recap
3	August 28	Arizona Cardinals	Cancelled due to Hurricane Ida^[125]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	September 12	Green Bay Packers	W 38–3	1–0	TIAA Bank Field^{[upper-alpha 1]}	Recap
2	September 19	at Carolina Panthers	L 7–26	1–1	Bank of America Stadium	Recap
3	September 26	at New England Patriots	W 28–13	2–1	Gillette Stadium	Recap
4	October 3	New York Giants	L 21–27 (OT)	2–2	Caesars Superdome	Recap
5	October 10	at Washington Football Team	W 33–22	3–2	FedExField	Recap
6	Bye
7	October 25	at Seattle Seahawks	W 13–10	4–2	Lumen Field	Recap
8	October 31	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 36–27	5–2	Caesars Superdome	Recap
9	November 7	Atlanta Falcons	L 25–27	5–3	Caesars Superdome	Recap
10	November 14	at Tennessee Titans	L 21–23	5–4	Nissan Stadium	Recap
11	November 21	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 29–40	5–5	Lincoln Financial Field	Recap
12	November 25	Buffalo Bills	L 6–31	5–6	Caesars Superdome	Recap
13	December 2	Dallas Cowboys	L 17–27	5–7	Caesars Superdome	Recap
14	December 12	at New York Jets	W 30–9	6–7	MetLife Stadium	Recap
15	December 19	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 9–0	7–7	Raymond James Stadium	Recap
16	December 27	Miami Dolphins	L 3–20	7–8	Caesars Superdome	Recap
17	January 2	Carolina Panthers	W 18–10	8–8	Caesars Superdome	Recap
18	January 9	at Atlanta Falcons	W 30–20	9–8	Mercedes-Benz Stadium	Recap

NFC South
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
⁽²⁾ Tampa Bay Buccaneers	13	4	0	.765	4–2	8–4	511	353	W3
New Orleans Saints	9	8	0	.529	4–2	7–5	364	335	W2
Atlanta Falcons	7	10	0	.412	2–4	4–8	313	459	L2
Carolina Panthers	5	12	0	.294	2–4	3–9	304	404	L7

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Packers	0	3	0	0	3
Saints	10	7	7	14	38

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Saints	0	0	0	7	7
Panthers	7	10	0	9	26

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Saints	7	7	7	7	28
Patriots	0	3	3	7	13

Period	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Giants	0	7	3	11	6	27
Saints	0	7	7	7	0	21

NFC v t e
#	Team	Division	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	SOS	SOV	STK
Division winners
1^{[lower-alpha 1]}	Green Bay Packers	North	13	4	0	.765	4–2	9–3	.479	.480	L1
2^{[lower-alpha 1]}	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	South	13	4	0	.765	4–2	8–4	.467	.443	W3
3^{[lower-alpha 2]}	Dallas Cowboys	East	12	5	0	.706	6–0	10–2	.488	.431	W1
4^{[lower-alpha 2]}	Los Angeles Rams	West	12	5	0	.706	3–3	8–4	.483	.409	L1
Wild cards
5	Arizona Cardinals	West	11	6	0	.647	4–2	7–5	.490	.492	L1
6	San Francisco 49ers	West	10	7	0	.588	2–4	7–5	.500	.438	W2
7^{[lower-alpha 3]}	Philadelphia Eagles	East	9	8	0	.529	3–3	7–5	.469	.350	L1
Did not qualify for the postseason
8^{[lower-alpha 3]}	New Orleans Saints	South	9	8	0	.529	4–2	7–5	.512	.516	W2
9	Minnesota Vikings	North	8	9	0	.471	4–2	6–6	.507	.434	W1
10^{[lower-alpha 4]}	Washington Football Team	East	7	10	0	.412	2–4	6–6	.529	.420	W1
11^{[lower-alpha 4]}^{[lower-alpha 5]}	Seattle Seahawks	West	7	10	0	.412	3–3	4–8	.519	.424	W2
12^{[lower-alpha 4]}^{[lower-alpha 5]}	Atlanta Falcons	South	7	10	0	.412	2–4	4–8	.472	.315	L2
13	Chicago Bears	North	6	11	0	.353	2–4	4–8	.524	.373	L1
14	Carolina Panthers	South	5	12	0	.294	2–4	3–9	.509	.412	L7
15	New York Giants	East	4	13	0	.235	1–5	3–9	.536	.485	L6
16	Detroit Lions	North	3	13	1	.206	2–4	3–9	.528	.627	W1
Tiebreakers^{[lower-alpha 6]}
Green Bay finished ahead of Tampa Bay based on conference record (9–3 vs. 8–4). Dallas finished ahead of LA Rams based on conference record (10–2 vs. 8–4). Philadelphia finished ahead of New Orleans based on head-to-head victory. Washington finished ahead of Atlanta and Seattle based on head-to-head victories. Seattle finished ahead of Atlanta based on win percentage in common games (4–2 vs. 3–3 against: San Francisco, New Orleans, Jacksonville, Washington, and Detroit). When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest-ranked remaining team from each division.

2021_New_Orleans_Saints_season

Roster changes

Free agency

Unrestricted

Restricted

Futures

Signings

Practice squad additions

Released/Waived

Practice squad releases

Contract extensions

Retirements

Player trades

Draft

Undrafted free agent signings

Staff

Final roster

Preseason

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Green Bay Packers

Week 2: at Carolina Panthers

Week 3: at New England Patriots

Week 4: vs. New York Giants

Week 5: at Washington Football Team

Week 7: at Seattle Seahawks

Week 8: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 9: vs. Atlanta Falcons

Week 10: at Tennessee Titans

Week 11: at Philadelphia Eagles

Week 12: vs. Buffalo Bills

Week 13: vs. Dallas Cowboys

Week 14: at New York Jets

Week 15: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 16: vs. Miami Dolphins

Week 17: vs. Carolina Panthers

Week 18: at Atlanta Falcons

Standings

Division

Conference

Notes

References

External links

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