Saints Re-Sign Veteran Safety for Depth in Free Agency

The New Orleans Saints are bringing back a familiar face to help out on defense and the special teams.

NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported on Tuesday that the Saints are re-signing safety and special teams ace Terrell Burgess.

"The Saints are re-signing safety and special-teams contributor Terrell Burgess, who appeared in 16 games last season for New Orleans," Garafolo wrote.

Saints Bring Back Terrell Burgess

May 10, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive back Terrell Burgess (42) during rookie minicamp at Ochsner Sports Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Who is Terrell Burgess?

Burgess is a five-year National Football League veteran with 59 games of NFL experience under his belt. He's appeared in 12 games or more just three times in his career to this point, but one of those seasons did come in 2025 as a member of the Saints. Burgess played in 16 games for the Saints, including one start, in 2025 in his first campaign with the team. He was a third-round pick by the Los Angeles Rams back in the 2020 National Football League Draft. Since then, he's spent time with the Rams, New York Giants, Washington Commanders and the Saints.

Role With Saints

In 2025, Burgess saw the field for 115 snaps on defense and 205 snaps with the special teams. Overall, he finished the season with three passes defended and 22 total tackles. On defense, quarterbacks completed just 30 percent of their passes against him in coverage (3-for-10) for 43 yards. On first look, Burgess' role is likely to be very similar in 20256. Burgess is a safety, which is a position the Saints are loaded at with Justin Reid, Julian Blackmon and Jonas Sanker. Burgess is likely to be behind these three on the depth chart at safety while also getting time with the special teams.

Next Steps For Saints

The Saints are projected to have just over $14.1 million in salary cap space, per Over The Cap. The biggest roster hole for New Orleans is the No. 2 wide receiver spot behind Chris Olave. The Saints entered the offseason needing to bolster the receiver room and haven't accomplished it yet. But there's still plenty of time left to do so. Plus, the 2026 NFL Draft will be here starting on April 23, which could help solve that problem. Also, the Saints should be all over a contract extension for Olave as well. Wide receivers are getting paid. Jaxon Smith-Njigba landed a four-year, $168.6 million deal on Monday. Olave isn't likely to get a deal at that level, but he's surely going to get paid well himself. The longer the Saints wait, the more the price will rise.