John Ridgeway will not be departing on the open market. The defensive tackle has agreed to a new Saints deal, Tom Pelissero, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network report. This will be a two-year, $6.2MM contract.
Ridgeway has spent the past two seasons in New Orleans. He got into 28 percent of his team’s defensive snaps during his first year with the organization, finishing with 15 stops. He seemed prime for a larger role in 2025, but injuries got in the way. A pectoral injury delayed the start of his campaign, and an illness kept him sidelined later in the year. He ultimately started two of his four appearances.
The former fifth-round pick spent the first two seasons of his career with the Commanders. He got into 32 games (six starts) during his stint in Washington, compiling a total of 55 tackles.
Nathan Shepherd and Davon Godchaux are both set to return in 2026, but there could be some leftover reps at DT depending on the status of free agent Jonah Williams. Vernon Broughton could represent Ridgeway’s biggest competition for any backup snaps at the position.
Ben Levine contributed to this post.