Cesar Ruiz lauds Justin Reid as a high-character leader while the Saints add the former KC safety on a 3-year, $31.5M deal with $22.25M guaranteed. Reid’s 81 tackles and 2 interceptions last season bolster New Orleans’ secondary and bring playoff pedigree to the locker room, a welcome contrast to the field emphasis. Ruíz also champions Reid’s Super Bowl experience as a stabilizing force in big-game situations.

Ruiz, meanwhile, highlights his community work, including a Camden bike giveaway, underscoring football as a platform for positive impact beyond Sundays. The mix of on-field upgrade and off-field leadership frames a tighter Saints squad for 2025.

No. 21 in New Orleans has become a rooted symbol of versatility and playmaking, a jersey history that climbs from the franchise’s early corners to modern multi-faceted backs and shutdown corners. Justin Reid currently wears it for the Saints, but the number’s lineage is packed with names who defined the position and era, from John Douglas to Keenan Lewis and Jamaal Williams. The piece layers in Kamara’s notable 2018-20 No. 21 scoring run, Hilliard’s Pro Bowl season, and a string of one-year stints that defined the jersey’s evolving identity.

For fantasy and betting fans, the history underscores how a No. 21 wearer often signals a defensive-minded deputy or a versatile back who can contribute in multiple ways. Reid’s upcoming 2025 role looms as a focal point in a Saints secondary, while earlier No. 21s show how the number has swung between backfield durability and DB-ball hawking. The season opener vs. Arizona adds a fresh lens to examine the 21 jersey’s influence and the Saints’ evolving offensive-backfield or defensive schemes in a marquee Week 1 matchup.

Justin Reid is the Saints’ Player of Day 21 as New Orleans countdowns to kickoff with opening-night questions answered by his arrival. Reid steps into a leadership role in a defense eager for a dramatic improvement after last season’s underwhelming output, especially in the secondary. A product of Geismar and Stanford, Reid arrived as a coveted free agent and now anchors NO’s back end, tasked with filling Tyrann Mathieu’s void and guiding younger cover players through a pivotal season.

His NFL journey spans Houston, Kansas City, and now New Orleans, where his impact is measured not just by tackles but by his ability to read routes and disrupt passes. Reid posted 83 tackles with KC in 2022, followed by a career-best 95 tackles in 2023, plus multiple sacks and PBUs across stops. The Saints’ defense hopes Reid’s veteran presence translates into more turnovers and fewer big plays, a critical factor as they aim for a marked step forward in 2025.

With Mathieu’s retirement opening a new chapter, Reid’s home-state return is seen as both a symbolic and practical upgrade. The opener against Arizona in 21 days will test how quickly Reid can install a new backbone for NO’s defensive backfield and help lift a unit hungry for a confident start to the season.

The New Orleans Saints carry a deep No. 28 legacy into the 2025 opener against the Arizona Cardinals, a roster thread that runs from the Dome Patrol-era savages to today’s fresh faces. Julian Blackmon is the latest to slide into No. 28, teaming with Justin Reid to form a younger, more athletic safety duo in a rebuild-minded secondary. The piece traces a long line of No. 28 wearers—greats and flashes alike—highlighting Gene Atkins’s seven-year run and Latavius Murray’s two-year surge, among others, as the jersey’s enduring mark on Saints defense and identity.

Blackmon’s arrival signals a shift toward playmaking and turnover potential, a key fantasy implication as Reid and Blackmon look to spark more turnovers and limit big plays. The No. 28 thread stretches through Antonio Williams, Mark Ingram II (the early high draft pick who wore 28 briefly before settling at 22), C.J. Spiller’s questionable tenure, and Latavius Murray’s efficient run—reminders that the Saints prize versatility and a defensive tone-setter when selecting this number. In a franchise already rebuilding, Blackmon’s No. 28 could translate into immediate splash plays and improved back-end efficiency as the season opens in Week 1.

In short, the No. 28 story is about more than a number; it’s a lens on New Orleans’ evolving defense and a signal to fantasy managers to watch the back end closely as Blackmon and Reid try to recreate a disruptive secondary identity for a Saints squad chasing a return to form.