Aug 14, 2025; Carson, CA, USA; A New Orleans Saints helmet on the field during a joint practice against the Los Angeles Rams at the Dignity Health Sports Park. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Saints $52 Million Man Emerging As 2025 Game-Breaker

Originally posted on New Orleans Saints on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Sep 15, 2025 9:00 AM ET

The New Orleans Saints have lost their first two games of the 2025 National Football League season but that doesn’t mean that there haven’t been any spots.

Sunday was a tough one. The Saints faced an injured San Francisco 49ers team and ended up losing, 26-21. Mac Jones led the way for the 49ers with Brock Purdy injured. He went 26-of-39 passing against the Saints' defense for 279 yards and three touchdowns. Overall, it was a rough day.

Now, the Saints are 0-2, but it's too early to lose hope. There are 15 games left this season and there have been some bright spots to go along with the dreary one. For example, Carl Granderson -- who is now in his seventh NFL season -- has been the team's biggest breakout star on defense to this point.

Again, it's just two games, but Granderson has been a game-breaker in both of them. Granderson had 1 1/2 sacks Week 1 against Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals and followed up with two sacks Week 2 against Jones and the 49ers.

The Saints have a game-breaker on their hands

Granderson is tied with Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns and Harold Landry III of the New England Patriots for the most sacks in the NFL at the 3 1/2.

To put Granderson's start to the season into perspective. Last year, he had 5 1/2 sacks total over the course of the entire season while starting all 17 games for the Saints. The 2023 season was the best of his career with 8 1/2 sacks. Now, there's a lot of football left to be played and there's a chance he doesn't reach that total, but he's certainly on pace to do so.

The Saints' pass rush entered the season with a lot of question marks. But, it actually has been pretty staunch over the first two weeks of the season, even without Chase Young. There are some positive takeaways from this team right now, despite the 0-2 start.

He's certainly helping himself out right now as well. Granderson signed a four-year, $52 million deal with the Saints. That deal has a potential out after the season before his cap hit rises to just over $18 million. The 28-year-old couldn't have asked for a better start to the season for himself.

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

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