Jan 7, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Detailed view of the New Orleans Saints helmet during warmups against the Atlanta Falcons at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Longtime Saints Star Wants To Play In 2026

Originally posted on New Orleans Saints on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Jan 1, 2026 8:11 PM ET

There is just one game left in the 2025 National Football League regular season but it sounds like longtime New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis doesn't want it to be the final game of his illustrious career.

Davis is in his 14th season in the NFL and continues to find a way to dominate. In fact, he actually set a new career high with his 137th tackle of the season in Week 17 against the Tennessee Titans. Davis will be a free agent after the season and made it clear on Thursday that he wants to play another season.

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"I try to take it one year at a time and I'm excited that this probably be the earliest that I know that I want to continue to play," Davis said.

The Saints should retain Demario Davis

Davis continued and talked about the business side of the decision as well.

"I don't think in terms of the business element before the business element presents itself," Davis said. "We're in a game where contracts do matter, but that's such a small part of your career. That happens in a little small window in the offseason once every other year or every couple of years. And when that time gets here, man, in 14 years, that's always worked itself out. ... I've never had to really negotiate a contract. They've always negotiated themselves. And so when that time gets here, that's like very low for my concern meter right now. What I'm focused on is finishing the season strong, kind of putting an exclamation point on what has been an individual and a collective good season for the defense and the team."

The Saints would be wise to keep Davis around. Davis is in his eighth season as a member of the franchise. The first half of the 2025 season didn't go well for the franchise, but things turned around when Tyler Shough was installed as the starting quarterback. The vibes are off the charts with New Orleans right now and there's hope this team can be competitive in the division next season. Clearly Davis can still play. Retaining him would do wonders for the 2026 season.

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This article first appeared on New Orleans Saints on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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