These Saints players must step up, earn captain's patches this season

If last year's eight-man group of captains is an indication, we can say that New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore values a big leadership core on his team. But there's going to be at least some turnover going into Moore's second season with almost half of the team's 2025 captains moving on. Someone has to address the team before kickoff on Sunday mornings. Demario Davis took over that responsibility from Drew Brees, but now the Saints are without either of them.

Of the eight players named team captains last year, three are no longer around: wide receiver Brandin Cooks and kicker Blake Grupe were cut at midseason, while Davis left in free agency this spring. That leaves five returning captains between defensive end Cameron Jordan (a team captain since 2015), center Erik McCoy (since 2023), safety Justin Reid (first-timer in 2025), and running back Alvin Kamara (2022, 2024, and 2025), with long snapper Zach Wood (since 2023) representing the special teams. You'd guess those five all receive the captain's patch again in 2026, but you never know. Maybe someone more deserving steps up.

Maybe this is premature. But if the Saints are going to name three new team captains for 2026, the expectations for these three players must be that they'll win it:

Tyler Shough

Most starting quarterbacks around the league -- if not all of them -- wear the captain's patch every Sunday, and the expectation should be for Shough to join them. He needed some extra time to prepare for his opportunity to start last season after being outplayed by Spencer Rattler during the preseason, but now there's no question who is QB1. If he isn't wearing the patch in the fall, it'll be because he didn't meet those expectations at training camp over the summer, and that would mean he might have a shorter leash than we think. The sooner Shough is playing well enough to be stamped and put those doubts to rest, the better.

Kaden Elliss

Elliss was named a captain for the first time with the Atlanta Falcons in 2025, his third season with the team, and now he's returned to New Orleans to try and help fill the void Demario Davis left behind. Davis was a mentor to Elliss early in his career, and showed him how to be a great pro in the NFL. Now it's time for him to put those lessons into practice and prove he's the best option to man the middle of the field. Pete Werner is also an option here as a longtime tag-team partner for Davis, but he's competing for his starting job with second-year draft pick Danny Stutsman after they split snaps last season. As the surefire full-time starter, it's on Elliss to earn the captain's patch.

Ryan Wright

This one is tricky. Wright was never named special teams captain in four years with the Minnesota Vikings; that honor went to long snapper Andrew DePaola and fullback C.J. Ham, a key special teams contributor, who both were around before he joined the team. But now Wright is the fifth highest-paid punter in the NFL, and he's being paid to do more than place punts deep in opposing territory. It's important he step up and assert himself as a pillar for the Saints to build off of in the kicking game. At the same time, he may just not be that guy. If someone else takes a more vocal approach, look for a player like linebacker Isaiah Stalbird (13 special teams tackles and a team-leading 357 snaps in the game's third phase) to make their case.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: These Saints players must step up, earn captain's patches this season