Wednesday brings us to 11 days until the New Orleans Saints
season opener. The Saints will open 2026 on the road when they travel to take on the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Sept. 13. Currently, backup quarterback Zach Wilson wears the No. 11 jersey after using No. 4 in the preseason. In franchise history, thirteen players have worn the uniform number. We take a look at all of them in our ongoing countdown to kickoff series.Saints History of No. 11
- QB/P Ronnie Lee South (1968)
- QB Jim Ninowski (1969)
- CB Bivian Lee (1971-75)
- QB Ed Burns (1979-80)
- QB Richard Todd (1984)
- QB John Fourcade (1987-90)
- QB Billy Joe Tolliver (1998-99)
- QB Mark Brunell (2008-09)
- WR Tommylee Lewis (2018-19)
- WR Deonte Harris (2019-22)
- CB Cameron Dantzler (2023)
- WR Cedrick Wilson Jr. (2024)
- WR Dante Pettis (2025)
- QB Zach Wilson (2026-Present)
Ronnie Lee South was the first to suit up in No. 11 for New Orleans as a Round 5 choice by the team in the 1968 NFL draft. South played just four games as a backup quarterback that season, completing 14 of 38 throws for 129 yards with 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions. He also filled in at punter, booting 14 punts for an average
of only 27.6 yards. Jim Ninowski got his turn at quarterback wearing No. 11 the following year. Also a backup, Ninowski appeared in four games and completed 17 of 34 passes for 227 yards with a touchdown and 2 interceptions.
Bivian Lee was the first defensive player for the Saints to wear a No. 11 jersey. As a third-round choice from Prairie View A&M in 1971, he's also the highest drafted player by New Orleans to wear the number. Lee was with the Saints for five seasons, with his 65 games the most of any Saint to wear No. 11. Over that span, he had 9 interceptions and recovered 3 fumbles. His 4 picks in 1972 led the Saints, following that up by tying for the team lead with 3 interceptions in 1973.
A string of five quarterbacks to wear No. 11 ensued between 1979 and 2009. Only one of them, John Fourcade, were with the Saints for more than one season. The most notable name and perhaps biggest disaster of that group was Richard Todd, the sixth overall choice by the New York Jets in the 1976 NFL draft. Todd had a maddeningly erratic career with the Jets before being traded to the Saints after the 1983 season. He wore No. 11 in 1984, his first year in New Orleans, before switching to 14 the following year. Todd started 14 games for the Saints in 1984, completing 51.6% of his passes for 2,178 yards with 11 touchdowns and 19 interceptions.
A native of Gretna, La. and star for the Mississippi Rebels, John Fourcade played in the CFL and USFL before joining his hometown Saints as a replacement player during the 1987 player strike. He led New Orleans to a 2-1 record as starter while the regulars were out and stuck on the roster when the strike ended. Between 1989 and 1990, Fourcade saw eight more starts behind center and led the team to a 3-0 mark down the stretch of the 1989 campaign. Fourcade played in 14 games with 11 starts and a 7-4 record. He had a 50.8% career completion percentage with 2,312 passing yards, 14 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions.
Billy Joe Tolliver was the second of the two "Billy Joe horrors" on the Mike Ditka quarterback circus. Both Tolliver and Billy Joe Hobert were nightmares, as were all of the seven quarterbacks Ditka used during his three-year 'reign of error'. Tolliver played in 17 games during his stint in New Orleans with 11 starts and a 2-9 record. He had a 53.3% completion percentage with 3,343 yards, 15 touchdown, and 20 interceptions. Tolliver was mercifully cut during the 2000 season, but was re-signed as a backup during the year with no game action.
Most of the success Mark Brunell had in his career was with the Jacksonville Jaguars, then a couple successful years with the Washington Redskins near the end of his 17-year career. Between those stops, Brunell was a backup for two years in New Orleans behind Drew Brees. He saw very little game action, but essentially served well as an extra coach on the sidelines. During his time behind Brees, Brunell only started the 2009 season finale, completing 15 of 29 throws for 102 yards in a loss.
Tommylee Lewis broke the string of No. 11 quarterbacks by making the 2016 squad as an undrafted rookie. Lewis wore three different numbers during a four-year stretch with the team, donning No. 11 for 22 games in 2017 and 2018. Mainly a return specialist, Lewis averaged 8 yards on punt returns and 23 yards on kickoffs wearing No. 11 while accounting for 200 scrimmage yards on 17 touches. Unfortunately, Lewis also goes down in New Orleans history because he was the target on a clear pass interference no-call during the NFL's blatant robbery of a Super Bowl berth when the Saints faced the Rams in the 2019 NFC championship game.
Deonte Harris shocked the NFL as an undrafted rookie in 2019, earning All-Pro honors as an explosive return specialist. While he eventually changed his last name to Harty, Deonte continued to torture NFL teams on special teams, averaging nearly 10 yards with 2 scores as a punt returner and over 25 yards on kickoffs. He was also an underrated receiver, catching 64 passes for 793 yards and 4 scores in 40 games with the Saints, the second longest stint of anyone to wear the No. 11 jersey.
Cameron Dantzler had two games as a Saint, with only a few snaps on special teams. After him came Cedrick Wilson, who caught 20 passes for 211 yards over 15 games in his one year with the team. Last to wear No. 11 for New Orleans was Dante Pettis in 2025. Pettis was a backup receiver and punt returner that spent two years with the Saints, wearing 17 in 2024 and 11 last year. Wearing 11, Pettis had 9 receptions for 127 yards and averaged a woeful 6.1 yards per punt return but a more respectable 23.4 on kickoffs.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: 11 days until Saints opener: Every player to wear the No. 11 jersey
