Our Views: Future Saints won't be in these numbers (2024)

The New York Yankees, boasting 27 world championships, have retired 21 uniform numbers, including every one from 1 to 10.

The New Orleans Saints, with one world championship, have not retired any.

But there are two numbers you won’t see on any future Saints: The 8 worn by Archie Manning and the 9 worn by Drew Brees.

As our Jeff Duncan reported, the Saints do not retire uniform numbers like many other clubs. And the National Football League discourages the practice, concerned that teams will run out of numbers to hand out. Many NFL teams do it anyway. The New York Giants have retired 12 numbers, including Archie's son Eli's 10 just last year.

The Saints enshrine their all-time greats by placing them in the club’s Ring of Honor, which includes seven names so far: Manning, Sam Mills, Rickey Jackson, Willie Roaf, Morten Andersen, Will Smith and late owner Tom Benson.

So what keeps the black and gold from handing out a No. 8 or No. 9 jersey?

Duncan reports that the team’s equipment managers, Dan Simmons and John Baumgartner, are the guardians of the tradition. Mark Ingram is a beloved Saint, and when he rejoined the team last year and was looking for a uniform number, he thought he would look sharp wearing No. 8. But they coaxed him into No. 14 jersey.

So let's count on Simmons and Baumgartner and their successors to safeguard the practice. It would be a shame to show up at training camp and see some backup punter wearing No. 9.