Saints Countdown to NFL Kickoff 2021: #49 Zach Wood
The New Orleans Saints are 49 days away from their Week 1 clash with the Pack. Here is a look at one of New Orleans Saints' greatest players to wear #49: LS Zach Wood.
Zach Wood, 28, enters his fifth NFL season in 2021, all with the New Orleans Saints. A DT in High School, Wood posted 115 tackles and 5 sacks as a Senior earning All-State honorable mention. He would go on to play college football in his home state of Texas at SMU. In his Redshirt Sophomore and Junior seasons, Wood started every game at DE for SMU and was named team captain as a senior. Wood finished his SMU career with 137 tackles, 22 TFL, 9 sacks, 2 FF, and 3 blocked kicks. He also served as the team's long snapper.
The Dallas Cowboys signed Wood as a UDFA following the 2016 NFL Draft. He was released following training camp and signed a reserve/future deal the following January. In his second Camp stint with the Cowboys, Wood focused primarily on Long Snapping but could not win the job and was released before the season.
After an emergency heart surgery for the Saints newly acquired LS Jon Dorenbos, New Orleans hosted a four LS for a tryout and signed Zach Wood. In 2017, Wood was the Saints LS for both punts and placekicks. The Saints retained him on a one-year contract in 2018 and agreed to a four-year extension in 2019.
Zach Wood is under contract with the New Orleans Saints through the 2024 NFL season.
Follow Saints News Network’s Writer, Brendan Boylan, on Twitter & Instagram at @btboylan.
