Saints 2026 training camp preview: High hopes, more turnover at punter

Since the departure of Thomas Morstead after the 2020 season, the New Orleans Saints have had a literal revolving door at punter. Over the last five seasons after Morstead, the Saints have used four different punters. Each has had less success than the last. This offseason, New Orleans showed some more attention to the position.

Special teams make very few headlines, but can be the difference between a win and a loss. The Saints have learned this on both sides of the spectrum over the last few seasons. Our training camp previews continue with by looking at a position that isn't high-profile, but could prove to be crucial for the 2026 Saints.

• Offseason losses: Kai Kroeger
• Offseason additions: Ryan Wright

Kai Kroeger was the fourth different punter the Saints have used in five years since Morstead moved on. Of those four, only Blake Gillikin (2021 and 2022) lasted as many as two seasons. Kroeger took over for Matthew Hayball last offseason, but the results were significantly worse. In 2025, Kroeger had a nearly respectable gross average of 44.8 yards per punt. However, his net average of 37.3 yards ranked at the bottom of the NFL. He managed only 18 punts downed inside the opposing 20-yard line, a lowly average of just 32.1%. Even worse, Kroeger had 2 punts blocked and rarely showed either the power or accuracy to flip field position for a New Orleans team that desperately needed such an advantage.

After trying five different undrafted rookies to replace Morstead, the Saints went a different route this offseason. In free agency, they signed former Minnesota Vikings punter Ryan Wright to a four-year contract worth $14 million dollars. If you think that was a steep price to pay for a punter, than you haven't watched the Saints kicking game for at least a few years.

As of yet, there is no competition facing Wright during training camp. The Saints bet $1.9 million in 2026 salary cap space that competition shouldn't be necessary. Wright, 26, is a former Tulane Green Wave prospect that has kicked for the Vikings his entire four-year NFL career. Over those four years, he has a 47.9 yard gross average and a 42.5 yard net average. Wright has had 101 of his punts downed inside the opposing 20-yard line, a career average of 39.9%.

A punter's job is to flip field position and give an opponent a long field to work. Doing so reduces the pressure on its defense. This is an aspect that has consistently been missing from New Orleans since Morstead was in his prime. Simply stated, a punter should not be a major topic of analysis if they are doing their job. This is precisely why the Saints targeted Ryan Wright in free agency.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints 2026 training camp preview: High hopes, more turnover at punter