Saints Quietly Re-Sign John Ridgeway on 2-Year, $6.2 Million Deal

The New Orleans Saints made a very solid depth move early on.

Dec 28, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive tackle John Ridgeway III (95) celebrates the win against the Tennessee Titans during the post game at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Saints are bringing back a veteran for the 2026 season.

Free agency has opened up across the league and there have been moves popping up all over the place. There has been some serious star power already on the move, including Malik Willis and Kenneth Walker III, who reportedly agreed to terms on deals with the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs, respectively.

While moves like those will garner most of the headlines, there are plenty of smaller-scale moves to watch that will have an impact on teams in 2026. For the Saints, one of these moves camp on Monday with the franchise reportedly reuniting with veteran defensive tackle John Ridgeway on a two-year, $6.2 million deal, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

The Saints are retaining John Ridgeway on a two-year deal

Dec 21, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive tackle John Ridgeway (95) heads to the locker room after the game against the New York Jets during the second half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

"The Saints are signing veteran DT John Ridgeway to a two-year, $6.2 million deal, per The Insiders," Pelissero wrote. " Deal negotiated by [LIFT Sports Management]."

Ridgeway is a four-year veteran who spent the last two years in New Orleans. In 2025, he was only able to play in four games for New Orleans, including two starts. In 2024, he played in 13 games for the Saints.

This isn't the type of move that will grab headlines, like New Orleans losing Demario Davis in free agency to the New York Jets. But it's the type of move that helps the team's defensive depth on a cheap deal. There's a lot more work to do and we should see a bit of fireworks from New Orleans at some point. But this is the type of quiet move that could easily be forgotten about, but certainly could help the team when the 2026 season rolls around.

This is just the beginning, Saints fans. The market is now open. Over the next few weeks, we're going to see a flurry of moves. The first day is always wild with moves popping up left and right, but it's a marathon, not a sprint. New Orleans has started with depth and there will be more to come as the offseason progresses.