The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are well into their annual summer break, with training camp approaching rapidly. While the focus during the offseason was on playbook installation and getting all 91 players on the same page so that competition can begin in earnest in training camp, attention soon will turn to the specific challenges the team will face during the 2026 season. As such, with the schedule now laid out, we are taking a closer look at each opponent on the Bucs' schedule, examining what they did last season, which players and coaches have come and gone in the offseason and some as-yet-unanswered questions. Today's focus is on a division rival, the New Orleans Saints, who may have found a franchise quarterback and are working to build up the offense around him.

2025 Results

The Saints were the only team in the NFC South in 2025 not to finish with an 8-9 record and they landed in fourth place in the division for the first time in 16 years. That said, they also won four of their last five games, beat the division-winning Panthers twice in the last nine weeks and prevailed in five of rookie quarterback Tyler Shough's nine starts after Shough took over for Spencer Rattler.

New Orleans, which won the NFC South four straight times from 2017-20, were never in contention for that title in 2025 due to eight losses in their first nine outings. Rattler began the season under center but was surrounded by a meager receiving corps apart from Chris Olave and the Saints topped 21 points in a game just one time in their first 12 attempts. The season began with two fairly close losses at home to the Cardinals (20-13) and 49ers (26-21) but a Week Three trip to Seattle delivered a more lopsided defeat. The eventual Super Bowl champions got two touchdown passes from Sam Darnold and two scoring runs from Kenneth Walker to cruise to a 44-13 final. The last game in the Saints' first four-game losing streak of the season was another tough trip to Buffalo, where New Orleans could only muster 298 yards of offense in a 31-19 defeat.

The Saints' first win of the season came in Week Five when the New York Giants visited the Superdome. Rattler hit wide receiver Rashid Shaheed on an 87-yard touchdown pass and cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry notched two interceptions in a 26-14 outcome, with New Orleans scoring the game's last 20 points. A month later, Shaheed was traded to the Seahawks.

That bit of sunshine didn't last long as the Saints hit a tough stretch of opponents and fell into another four-game skid. The surging Patriots started it in Week Six as Drake May threw three touchdown passes and the Saints' offense settled for Blake Grupe field goals on four of their five scoring drives to lose 25-19. That was a season-long concern, as New Orleans finished the year ranked dead last in the NFL in touchdown percentage on red zone drives. After a 26-13 loss in Chicago, the Saints returned home for another division game, as the Buccaneers came to town in Week Eight. After a scoreless first quarter, the Saints had a chance to take the game's momentum after incredibly stopping the Bucs on four straight plays from the New Orleans' one-yard line. Anthony Nelson grabbed that momentum right back when he leaped to bat a Rattler pass, caught the deflection and pushed through the quarterback into the end zone. Rattler was benched for Shough in the third quarter but the Bucs got an interception off him, too, from safety Antoine Winfield Jr.

Shough made his first start the next Sunday in New Orleans but the Rams handled the Saints easily in a 34-10 decision that included four Matthew Stafford touchdown passes. Shough's second start went better the next weekend when the Saints traveled in the opposite direction to take on the Panthers. Shough threw for 282 yards, two touchdowns and a 128.9 passer rating and the defense forced two turnovers while holding Carolina to 175 total yards.

After a Week 11 bye, the Saints returned to action with a 24-10 home loss to Atlanta and a 21-17 defeat on the road at Miami. After that came the team's aforementioned hot streak to end the season, beginning with a bit of revenge in Tampa in Week 14. The Bucs took a 17-14 lead in the third quarter while holding Shough to 144 passing yards and picking him off once, but the rookie quarterback ran for two scores and the Saints' defense held in the red zone late in the fourth quarter to force Tampa Bay to go for a field goal, the final points in a 24-20 decision.

New Orleans finished off its sweep of Carolina in Week 15 when the Saints scored the final 10 points of the game in the last two-and-a-half minutes, including an Olave touchdown, a final Panthers drive killed by a Chase Young sack and kicker Charlie Smiyth's 47-yard field goal with two seconds left for a 20-17 finish. Smyth, a native of Ireland who had been on the Saints' practice squad as part of the NFL's International Player Pathway program, replaced a struggling Blake Grupe late in the season and made 12 of his 16 field goal attempts. The Saints' offense started to wake up with 63 total points in wins over the Jets and Titans, but ended the season on a down note in a 19-17 loss at Atlanta. Shough threw for 259 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score, but his critical interception to Dee Alford late in the fourth quarter allowed the Falcons to take a 19-10 lead and the Saints ran out of time. While both teams had been eliminated from playoff contention before that game, the outcome decided the NFC South between the Panthers and the Buccaneers due to how it affected the tiebreaker situation.

Shough never let go of the job after taking it from Rattler and finished with a respectable 91.3 passer rating after throwing for 2,384 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions. He was also occasionally a threat with his legs, rushing for 186 yards and three scores. The Saints finished 13th in the NFL in passing offense but struggled to run the ball (94.3 yards per game and ranked just 23rd in total yards and 28th in points scored. Five-time Pro Bowler Alvin Kamara had by far his least productive season in his ninth year, rushing for 471 yards, adding just 186 receiving yards and scoring only one touchdown. Olave had another very strong season with 100 catches for 1,163 yards and nine touchdowns, earning second-team All-Pro honors in the process.

New Orleans' defense was quietly quite good, with aging but still very effective stars at the middle of it. Linebacker Demario Davis, in his 14th season and his eighth in New Orleans, lead the team with 143 tackles as the Saints ranked ninth in yards allowed and 17th in points allowed. Defensive end Cameron Jordan, in his 15th season in the bayou, had 10.5 sacks and contributed to a front that ranked fifth in the league with a 9.16% sacks-per-pass-play rate. Former second-overall pick Chase Young followed up a promising 2024 in New Orleans with his first 10-sack season and also broke up four passes, forced two fumbles and recovered three. McKinstry led the team with three interception but the Saints only had 10 of them overall and the Saints finished 23rd in the league with a -4 turnover differential.

2026 Arrivals

The Saints added to their emerging offense with guard David Edwards (four years, $61 million), running back Travis Etienne (four years, $48 million) and tight end Noah Fant (two years, $9 million). Edwards was widely regarded as the top available guard in free agency after strong 2024 and 2025 seasons with the Buffalo Bills. Etienne fell a single yard short of reaching 1,400 yards from scrimmage for the third time in his four NFL seasons, all in Jacksonville, and will either make a nice complement for Alvin Kamara or unseat the veteran back as the top presence in the Saints' backfield. Fant had 34 receptions and three touchdowns for the Bengals last year and replaces Foster Moreau, who left for the Texans, on the tight end depth chart. The Saints also added a little extra depth to their backfield by signing former Viking back Ty Chandler, who had a 461-yard season in 2023 but spent most of last season on injured reserve.

Those efforts to build up the offense around Shough continued in the draft, when the Saints used four of their first five picks on that side of the ball, beginning with Arizona State wide receiver Jordyn Tyson at number eight overall. Tyson wasn't the first receiver off the board – Ohio State's Carnell Tate went to the Titans at pick number four – and that was likely due to a somewhat concerning injury history, but many analysts considered him the best pass-catching prospect otherwise. The 6-2, 203-pound wideout easily creates separation and can pick up yards after the catch.

The Saints also added Georgia tight end Oscar Delp in the third round plus Auburn guard Jeremiah Wright and North Dakota State wide receiver Bryce Lance in the fourth round. Delp didn't have a high level of pass-catching production at Georgia, with just 70 catches in 55 games, but he has the speed, route-running skills and physicality to develop into a two-way tight end in the NFL. Wright, a strong run-blocker, could push right guard Cesar Ruiz for playing time but will at least add some much-needed depth on the interior line. Lance, the younger brother of NFL quarterback Trey Lance, has good size at 6-3 and 205 pounds and he moves well for that size. He had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons at NDSU. The Saints went back to the wide receiver well a third time in Round Six with LSU wide receiver Barion Brown, though he likely was selected more for his kick return abilities. Brown has 4.40 speed and recorded an amazing six kickoff return touchdowns in four seasons at Kentucky and LSU, all of them for either 99 or 100 yards.

For the defense, the Saints brought back another one of their former defenders, re-signing linebacker Kaden Elliss after he had spent the past three seasons in Atlanta. Elliss started every game over those three years and averaged 127 tackles per season, while adding another element as a strong blitzer. He had 12.5 sacks for the Falcons and actually had a career high of 7.0 sacks in 2022, the last of his first four seasons in New Orleans. The Saints also made a change at punter after trading Kai Kroeger to Houston by signing Ryan Wright from the Vikings.

The Saints' one additional move in the days after the first rush of free agency was to sign quarterback Zach Wilson, who presumably slots in third on the depth chart after Shough and Rattler. Wilson was with the Dolphins last season but threw only 11 passes. Later in the offseason, the team also made two moves to add depth to its edge rush group, trading a fifth-round pick to the Raiders for Tyree Wilson and a seventh-round pick, and more recently signing former Patriot Anfernee Jennings. Wilson was the seventh-overall pick in the 2023 draft but he has produced just 12.0 sacks in 50 games so far. Jennings was released by New England in March but he has started 33 games over the past three seasons and has 7.5 career sacks.

New Orleans also added cornerback Martin Emerson, a former third-round pick of the Browns who started 33 games from 2022-24 and snared four interceptions in that span. Emerson suffered an Achilles tendon injury last summer, however, and missed the 2025 campaign before becoming an unrestricted free agent in March.

The Saints' lone defensive draft pick in the first five rounds was Georgia defensive tackle Christen Miller in the second stanza. At 6-4 and 321 pounds, Miller adds bulk to the Saints' interior line and is already established as a very good run defender. The only other picks New Orleans made on that side of the ball were Ohio State safety Lorenzo Styles Jr. in the fifth round and Iowa cornerback T.J. Hall in the seventh round. Styles is the older brother of seventh-overall pick Sonny Styles and the son of former NFL linebacker Lorenzo Styles. He started his collegiate career as a wide receiver at Notre Dame but switched to cornerback after joining the Buckeyes in 2023. He may not have the coverage skills to stay at cornerback but he's an explosive athlete and a sound tackler who could figure into the mix in the slot or at safety. He is almost certain to make an immediate impact on special teams. Hall broke up 13 passes for the Hawkeyes in 2025 and adds depth to the cornerback group.

2026 Departures

The Saints didn't have many free agency defections, but they did lose one of their long-time defensive leaders in linebacker Demario Davis, who was still quite productive (143 tackles) in his age-36 and has now moved on to the Jets. Another starter on defense, cornerback Alontae Taylor, had a hot market in free agency and ended up signing a three-year, $58 million deal with Tennessee.

The additions of Fant and Delp helped make up for three departures at the tight end position. Foster Moreau, who made nine starts and caught seven passes last year, hooked up with the Texans on a two-year, $6 million agreement, while the versatile Taysom Hill remains unsigned after spending the past nine seasons in New Orleans. During that span, Hill regularly got snaps at quarterback and running back as well as tight end. Jack Stoll, who had four starts and six catches in 2025, moved on to Cleveland on a one-year deal.

Center Luke Fortner, who was expected to be a reserve in his first year in New Orleans, ended up starting 10 games due to Erik McCoy's injuries. Fortner, however, didn't stay long, signing this offseason with Panthers. Defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard also spent just one season in New Orleans, starting six games, and has now moved on to Dallas. Running back Evan Hull, who had 19 carries in six games in his one year with the Saints, was waived just after the draft.

Offensive lineman Nick Saldiveri, who missed all of last season due to a knee injury after making six starts in 2024, is still with the team but will not play again in 2026. He was recently placed on the reserve/physically unable to perform list for his continuing knee issue, which makes him ineligible to play in the fall.

Pressing Questions

With the recent additions on offense, will second-year quarterback Tyler Shough build on his promising start in 2026 and establish himself as a definite long-term starter?

Shough rose steadily on draft boards throughout the 2025 offseason and the Saints eventually picked him with the 40th-overall selection despite the fact that he would turn 26 early in his rookie campaign. The Saints obviously coveted Shough's significant arm talent as well as his processing skills borne of a great deal of college experience. His rookie numbers, noted above, are all the more impressive given Kamara's decline and the lack of a strong run game, notable injuries to the offensive line, the midseason trade of Shaheed and lack of other receiving options apart from Olave and tight end Juwan Johnson. Now the Saints have strengthened their line and added Tyson and Etienne to the offensive arsenal, and Shough will get a full offseason and training camp of first-team reps in Head Coach Kellen Moore's offense. Shough seems to handle pressure well, and his continued development in 2026 would not only keep the Saints in contention for the division crown but also possibly convince the team he is their next franchise quarterback?

Can the defense, with one major departure and few additions, repeat its sneaky success from 2025?

As noted above, the Saints were better than expected on defense in 2025, but it's not a particularly young group, particularly with Jordan recently signing back up for a 16th season. Second-round pick Christen Miller does add some youth to the defensive front and could immediately help a run defense that ranked 19th last year (but sixth in yards allowed per carry). The Saints' defensive efforts were not built on an inordinate number of takeaways – they were right in the middle of the NFL pack with 20 of them – so there isn't necessarily a concern about variance in that regard. Elliss will help ease the loss of Davis in the middle, though they are not exactly the same type of linebacker. Their could be some positive development in the secondary if young corners McKinstry, Quincy Riley and Jonas Sanker all take steps forward. The Saints also need Young to consider his resurgence and Carl Granderson to continue to be a steady source of about six to eight sacks. New Orleans is obviously betting on its defensive performance staying largely the same under coordinator Brandon Staley, as they only made a small handful of changes to the unit.