On the opening day of this year’s free agency period, the New Orleans Saints addressed a major special teams need by signing former Minnesota Vikings punter Ryan Wright. He inked a new four-year, $14 million deal with the Saints that includes a guaranteed $8 million on the contract.
Since moving on from longtime Saint Thomas Morstead in 2021, the punting game in New Orleans has been a sort of revolving door without little to no consistency at the position. Some recent names that have booted the football
for the Saints include Blake Gillikin, Lou Hedley, Matthew Hayball, and most recently Kai Kroeger.
With Wright’s signing, it shows that the Saints are intent on improving their special teams play in 2026.
Ryan Wright is familiar with his new city already after having played his collegiate career at the University of Tulane from 2018-21. He made conference All-American teams multiple times as well as being a candidate for the national Ray Guy Award, given annually to the best punter in the country.
While perhaps not the flashiest signing this offseason, Wright’s addition to the team should prove to be invaluable with the stability it will bring to the roster.
