14 days until Saints season opener: Every player to wear No. 14

In only 14 days, the New Orleans Saints will open their 2025 season in the Superdome against the Arizona Cardinals. The No. 14 hasn't boasted many significant contributors in New Orleans history. Veteran wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones wore the number during training camp, but was released by the Saints on Thursday. Here is the full list of players who have worn that jersey for New Orleans.

Saints' History of No. 14

• QB Karl Sweetan (1968)
• QB Edd Hargett (1969-72)
• P/K Russell Erxleben (1979-83)
• QB Richard Todd (1985)
• QB Tim Riordan (1987)
• QB Tom Hodson (1995)
• WR Tommylee Lewis (2020)
• RB Mark Ingram (2021)
• WR Kawaan Baker (2021)
• QB Andy Dalton (2022)
• CB Kool-Aid McKinstry (2024)
• WR Devaughn Vele (current)

Karl Sweetan was the first to put on a No. 14 jersey for the Saints, doing so for five games as a backup quarterback. Sweetan started three of those contests, going 1-2 while throwing for 318 yards with a touchdown and 9 interceptions with a 34.6% completion percentage. Edd Hargett followed Sweetan as a quarterback wearing No. 14 a year later, but with slightly better success. Hargett was primarily a backup for his four years in New Orleans, with his 44 games the second longest tenure of anyone to wear a No. 14 jersey. A 16th round draft choice in 1969, he was also the first Saints draft choice to wear the number. Hargett made eight starts as a Saint, managing a 1-6-1 record. His overall statistics in all game appearances were 2,727 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, and a 46.9% completion percentage.

New Orleans has made a lot of draft blunders over the years. A strong argument can be made that selecting kicker/punter Russell Erxleben with the 11th overall choice in the first round of the 1979 NFL draft was the biggest. Yes, Erxleben was a three-time All-American with the Texas Longhorns, but future Hall of Fame tight and Kellen Winslow went just two picks later and several other eventual Pro Bowlers were also still available with that pick.Erxleben couldn't even hold on to the kicker job with the Saints, going only 4 of 8 in field goal attempts during his entire career. As a punter, his 40.6 gross average was pedestrian at best, with an abysmal 18.6% of his career punts getting downed inside the opposing 20-yard line. Erxleben's 58 games in a New Orleans uniform are still longer than anyone else to wear a No. 14 uniform.

Richard Todd had an average but maddeningly erratic career with the New York Jets before joining the Saints in 1984. Todd wore No. 11 in his first year with New Orleans before switching to the No. 14 he had also worn with the Jets. He'd play only two games for the Saints wearing No. 14, both as a backup, completing 16 of 32 throws for 191 yards with 3 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.

Of the 11 players that have worn No. 14 for the Saints so far, nine of them have done it for one year or less. The oddest of those nine was Mark Ingram, one of the greats in franchise history. Ingram wore No. 22 most famously with the team, but had to wear No. 14 in the first year back in his second stint with the club. Wearing No. 14 for seven games in 2021, Ingram contributed 260 rushing yards and 138 more as a receiver. He'd switch back to 22 the next year to wrap up a terrific career.

Of the six quarterbacks to wear No. 14 in New Orleans, Andy Dalton had the most success. Dalton was with the Saints just one season, but installed as a starter after an injury to Jameis Winston. Dalton started 14 games for the Saints that season, more than Sweetan, Hargett, Todd, Tim Riordan, and Tommy Hodson combined. He'd have a 6-8 record with a 66.7% completion percentage, 2,871 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. Cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry wore No. 14 for the Saints as a rookie. McKinstry switched out from No. 34 early in his first season, but changed his jersey again to No. 4 this offseason.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: 14 days until Saints season opener: Every player to wear No. 14