39 days until Saints season opener: Every player to wear No. 39

We are down to a 39-day wait until the New Orleans Saints 2025 regular season opener against the Arizona Cardinals. It will be the 59th year of existence for the Saints, but their first under new head coach Kellen Moore. Here's a look through all the players who have worn No. 39 for the New Orleans franchise during the regular season.

Saints' History of No. 39

• RB Ernie Wheelwright (1967-70)
• RB Odell Lawson (1973-74)
• RB Morris LaGrand (1975)
• S Brett Maxie (1985-93)
• CB Carl Lee (1994)
• S Darren Perry (2000)
• CB Curtis DeLoatch (2006)
• S Chris Reis (2007-10)
• RB Travaris Cadet (2012-14)
• CB Brandon Browner (2015)
• CB Tavese Calhoun (2016)
• CB DeMarcus Fields (2022)
• P Lou Hedley (2023)
• K Charlie Smyth (2024-current)

Ernie Wheelwright was the first to wear 39 for the Saints, playing in the franchise's first four seasons. Over that span, he scored 6 touchdowns and accounted for 554 yards as a backup running back. Wheelwright's 38 games in the No. 39 jersey are the fourth most by any Saints player to wear the number. The 39 jersey would also be worn by running backs Lawson and LaGrand for a combined 23 games through the 1975 season.

Brett Maxie was the first defensive player to wear 39 for the Saints. Maxie was a key member of a New Orleans secondary that was part of the vaunted Dome Patrol defense that dominated the NFL through the late 1980s and early 1990s. He played 118 games with the Saints, by far the most of any player to wear No. 39 for the team.Maxie had 15 interceptions during his Saints career, returning three for touchdowns. He also added 5 fumble recoveries and 3 sacks while averaging 53 tackles per season. In 2025, Brett Maxie will be inducted into the Saints Hall of Fame. He'll be the second defensive back from the Dome Patrol era to receive that honor.

Carl Lee and Darren Perry were accomplished defensive backs for other teams, with each playing for New Orleans and wearing No. 39 for the final year of their distinguished careers. Both played only one year with the Saints. Lee intercepted 2 passes in his 12 games with the team, while Perry had 3 interceptions in his 16 contests. There have been 14 players to wear No. 39 in Saints history. Nine of them have done so for one year or less, with none being drafted by New Orleans.

Curtis DeLoatch was one of those one-year players, playing only seven games on special teams in 2006, his only year in the NFL. However, DeLoatch also holds a footnote in Saints history. After Hurricane Katrina devastated the region in 2005, the Saints wouldn't return to New Orleans to play a game until late September of 2006. During that game, a Monday night win over the Atlanta Falcons, Steve Gleason was immortalized for blocking a punt for the opening touchdown. DeLoatch was the one who recovered that punt in the end zone.

Chris Reis holds a similar footnote in New Orleans football history. Reis actually played 46 games for the Saints over four years, the second longest tenure of anyone to wear a 39 jersey with the team. He had an interception, one sack, and a fumble recovery, but forever will be known for one special teams play. During the Saints' Super Bowl XLIV win over the Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans opened the second half with a surprise onside kick nicknamed "Ambush." Reis recovered the kick, swinging momentum to the Saints in their championship victory.

Travaris Cadet also spent a career making underrated special teams contributions for the Saints. Also a backup running back, Cadet had 840 yards from scrimmage and 7 touchdowns in five seasons with New Orleans. The first three of those were spent wearing No. 39, making his 41 games the third-longest stint of anyone who's worn the jersey.

While Reis, Perry, DeLoatch, and Cadet made a few positive contributions in their short tenures with the Saints, the opposite can be said of Brandon Browner. New Orleans thought they were getting a dominant and physical corner from the "Legion of Boom" defenses with the Seattle Seahawks. What they got instead was a penalty-prone liability in coverage who helped divide the locker room. Browner was the most-penalized player in the NFL, by far, in 2015 for a defense that was historically bad. After his abysmal performance, Browner was released by the Saints the following offseason. He was arrested for several felonies over less than three years afterwards, including one for attempted murder that carried an eight-year prison sentence.

Browner was the first of five players to wear No. 39 over the past 10 years that have done it for a year or less. The four that followed him wore 39 for a combined 20 games, with punter Lou Hedley accounting for 17 of those in 2023. Kicker Charlie Smyth did not make a game appearance last year, spending the entire season on the practice squad. The latest No. 39, Smyth is trying to unseat incumbent Blake Grupe for the New Orleans kicking job this training camp.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: 39 days until Saints season opener: Every player to wear No. 39