Saturday means there are 15 days left before the New Orleans Saints officially open their 2026 season. New Orleans will play their season opener on the road when they play at the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Sept. 13. Wide receiver Mason Tipton currently wears the No. 15 with the Saints.
Tipton has been with New Orleans for both of his two NFL seasons. He is in a much deeper wideout unit this offseason, but looks like he could start the year on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list because of injury. Tipton is the 11th to wear a 15 jersey for New Orleans. Our countdown to kickoff series continues with a look at each who did it.
Saints History of No. 15
- QB Gary Cuozzo (1967)
- K Charlie Durkee (1971-72)
- QB Bob Davis (1973)
- CB Donnie Gibbs (1974)
- K Rich Szaro (1975-78)
- K Tony Fritsch (1982)
- WR Courtney Roby (2008-12)
- WR Seantavius Jones (2015)
- QB Trevor Siemian (2021)
- QB Ben DiNucci (2024)
- WR Mason Tipton (2025-current)
Instead of using the first overall choice in the 1967 NFL draft, which turned out to be defensive tackle Bubba Smith,
they'd trade the pick to the Baltimore Colts. The Saints also dealt a third round choice that year and center Bill Curry in exchange for Cuozzo, a 17th round pick in 1967, and offensive lineman Butch Allison. Cuozzo couldn't even beat out Billy Kilmer for the starting job in New Orleans and would be traded to the Minnesota Vikings the following year. In 1967, Cuozzo would play in 13 games for the Saints, starting 11 contests. He had a 51.5% completion percentage with 1,562 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. Cuozzo's only claim to fame with the Saints is that he was the starting quarterback in a 31-24 victory at the Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 5, 1967, the first win in the history of the franchise.
Kicker Charlie Durkee wore No. 10 during his first two years with the Saints in 1967 and 1968. Durkee returned to the team in 1971 for another two years, wearing No. 15. Over those two seasons, Durkee made 33 of his 34 extra points while converting 19 of 32 field goal attempts. Bob Davis was a backup quarterback for two games during the 1973 campaign, completing 5 of 17 throws for 14 yards with 2 interceptions. Donnie Gibbs is the only defensive player to wear No. 15 for the franchise, doing so for only one game.
Rich Szaro was the New Orleans kicker for four seasons. His 43 games are the second longest stint for a Saints player in the No. 15 jersey. Over his time with the team, Szaro made 80 of 86 extra points and converted 37 of 57 (64.9%) field goals. His 78.3% field goal percentage in 1976 led the NFL. Toni Fritsch had a productive 11-year career that began with four years with the Dallas Cowboys and five years with the Houston Oilers. He was brought to New Orleans in his final season but lasted just five games, hitting 4 of 7 field goals and 8 of 9 extra points before being replaced by future Hall of Famer Morten Andersen.
After Fritsch, it would be over two and a half decades before someone would wear No. 15 again for New Orleans. Courtney Roby was brought on in 2008 as a free agent. Roby played five seasons with the Saints, his 62 games the most of anyone in a No. 15 jersey. He'd have 2 catches for 15 yards over his New Orleans career in a deep receiving corps, but was one of the top special teamers in the league over that span.
During the Super Bowl XLIV championship season in 2009, Roby was voted the team's special teams MVP. He averaged 27.5 yards per kickoff return that season with a 97-yard touchdown along with being a fearsome presence on kick and punt coverage. Over his New Orleans career, Roby averaged 25.6 yards as a kickoff returner, tied for the second highest career average in franchise history of over 35 attempts.
Since Roby's retirement in 2014, three players have worn the No. 15 for a combined nine games. Trevor Siemian was responsible for six of those games, including four starts at quarterback. Siemian appeared in six contests for the Saints that season. The team won none of his four starts, with Siemian completing 57.4% of his throws for 1,154 yards with 11 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. After an undrafted rookie season with decent results, wideout Mason Tipton entered 2025 with the 15 jersey hoping to add some quality depth to a thin New Orleans receiver unit. He accomplished little, and has been sidelined for most of training camp with an injury that could cause him to start 2026 on the PUP list.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: 15 days until Saints opener: Every player to wear the No. 15 jersey
