Saint KayBee
pretty good
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Hi everyone,
I’ve got no interest in the fire this guy or cut that guy convos, so I’d like to take some time to discuss one of my favorite things: honoring great players. The Saints began a Ring Of Honor in 2013, honoring Rickey Jackson, Willie Roaf, and Archie Manning that year. Since then, Morten Andersen (2016), Tom Benson (2018), Will Smith (2019), Sam Mills (2021), Drew Brees (2024), and Jahri Evans (2024) have all been added.
The Saints somehow have numbers 31 and 81 retired for Jim Taylor and Doug Atkins - I consider these sham-adjacent since they were end-of-career players whose best playing days came with other franchises. I think it’s time to officially unretire these numbers, especially since many Saints fans can readily name players who have worn those numbers since (Jairus Byrd and Michael Haynes if you need two notables in your back pocket; Chris Banjo and Lamont Hall if kick teams is your jam). Number 8 has been out of circulation since the great Archie Manning wore it, Drew Brees’ 9 will go unworn unless one of his kids winds up being the QB here (perhaps the same note could be made for Manning’s high-profile grandson). Numbers like 26, 57, and 77 had each been uncirculated for stints of time but are open to all again. Will Smith’s 91 has also been worn since his life was unfairly taken.
I did a lot of searching for articles about this topic, with a wide range of opinions from “retiring numbers is dumb” (please disregard this thread if you feel that way, I am begging you before you type your first word in response to this post, please just don’t) to “since more numbers can be worn by more players on offense and defense now, maybe let a player on the opposite side of the ball wear a retired number” (seems reasonable if not a bit jarring; I remember controversy over a Bills defensive back wearing OJ Simpson’s number 32, as an example). My favorite one was written at The Power Sweep, a Packers fan blog: https://thepowersweep.com/blog/re-thinking-retiring-numbers-in-green-bay
In it, Jon Meerdink outlines a plan to permanently retire one number, and to de-circulate five on a chronological rotation. You would pull five numbers from circulation and notate when they last played for the team. When a team is ready to pull a sixth out of circulation, the longest-retired number returns to the pool of team-eligible numbers.
I think, for the Saints, this concept looks like this:
Permanently retired:
57, Rickey Jackson, first player to be inducted to the Hall Of Fame primarily as a Saint.
De-circulated:
8, Archie Manning, last appearance: 1982
9, Drew Brees, last appearance: 2020
51, Sam Mills, last appearance: 1994
77, Willie Roaf, last appearance: 2001
91, Will Smith, last appearance: 2012
This means that, once a new player’s jersey is retired, Archie’s #8 would return after over 40 years off the field. If a new one would be retired after that, then Mills’ 51 returns, then 77, 91, then Brees’ 9 finally. Rickey’s 57 would be off the table, reviewable at a set duration (say, once every 20 years, or in the aftermath of a death). With each return, a commemorative patch would be affixed if a player were to choose that number. This could look like “AM” in the Saints’ typeface, then his first and last year of play with the team underneath, so 1971-1982, if someone were to wear Archie’s 8.
Teams having transcendent players in this way, to have their jersey number pulled from circulation, is pretty rare. Fan favorites could still be honored in the Saints Hall of Fame, and true impact players could gain further recognition in the Ring Of Honor. For distinction, I believe Taysom Hill is a rather easy Saints Hall Of Famer, and Demario Davis is a Ring Of Honor level player.
What say you? Which would you permanently retire? Which five (or more, or less) would you pull from circulation to be honored?
I’ve got no interest in the fire this guy or cut that guy convos, so I’d like to take some time to discuss one of my favorite things: honoring great players. The Saints began a Ring Of Honor in 2013, honoring Rickey Jackson, Willie Roaf, and Archie Manning that year. Since then, Morten Andersen (2016), Tom Benson (2018), Will Smith (2019), Sam Mills (2021), Drew Brees (2024), and Jahri Evans (2024) have all been added.
The Saints somehow have numbers 31 and 81 retired for Jim Taylor and Doug Atkins - I consider these sham-adjacent since they were end-of-career players whose best playing days came with other franchises. I think it’s time to officially unretire these numbers, especially since many Saints fans can readily name players who have worn those numbers since (Jairus Byrd and Michael Haynes if you need two notables in your back pocket; Chris Banjo and Lamont Hall if kick teams is your jam). Number 8 has been out of circulation since the great Archie Manning wore it, Drew Brees’ 9 will go unworn unless one of his kids winds up being the QB here (perhaps the same note could be made for Manning’s high-profile grandson). Numbers like 26, 57, and 77 had each been uncirculated for stints of time but are open to all again. Will Smith’s 91 has also been worn since his life was unfairly taken.
I did a lot of searching for articles about this topic, with a wide range of opinions from “retiring numbers is dumb” (please disregard this thread if you feel that way, I am begging you before you type your first word in response to this post, please just don’t) to “since more numbers can be worn by more players on offense and defense now, maybe let a player on the opposite side of the ball wear a retired number” (seems reasonable if not a bit jarring; I remember controversy over a Bills defensive back wearing OJ Simpson’s number 32, as an example). My favorite one was written at The Power Sweep, a Packers fan blog: https://thepowersweep.com/blog/re-thinking-retiring-numbers-in-green-bay
In it, Jon Meerdink outlines a plan to permanently retire one number, and to de-circulate five on a chronological rotation. You would pull five numbers from circulation and notate when they last played for the team. When a team is ready to pull a sixth out of circulation, the longest-retired number returns to the pool of team-eligible numbers.
I think, for the Saints, this concept looks like this:
Permanently retired:
57, Rickey Jackson, first player to be inducted to the Hall Of Fame primarily as a Saint.
De-circulated:
8, Archie Manning, last appearance: 1982
9, Drew Brees, last appearance: 2020
51, Sam Mills, last appearance: 1994
77, Willie Roaf, last appearance: 2001
91, Will Smith, last appearance: 2012
This means that, once a new player’s jersey is retired, Archie’s #8 would return after over 40 years off the field. If a new one would be retired after that, then Mills’ 51 returns, then 77, 91, then Brees’ 9 finally. Rickey’s 57 would be off the table, reviewable at a set duration (say, once every 20 years, or in the aftermath of a death). With each return, a commemorative patch would be affixed if a player were to choose that number. This could look like “AM” in the Saints’ typeface, then his first and last year of play with the team underneath, so 1971-1982, if someone were to wear Archie’s 8.
Teams having transcendent players in this way, to have their jersey number pulled from circulation, is pretty rare. Fan favorites could still be honored in the Saints Hall of Fame, and true impact players could gain further recognition in the Ring Of Honor. For distinction, I believe Taysom Hill is a rather easy Saints Hall Of Famer, and Demario Davis is a Ring Of Honor level player.
What say you? Which would you permanently retire? Which five (or more, or less) would you pull from circulation to be honored?
: a largely unrecognized fullback who was way ahead of his time and very productive.
