March 16, 2026, 5:01 p.m. CT
2026 has been an offseason to remember for the New Orleans Saints already, and free agency only just opened a few days ago. Within the first few hours of its opening, the Saints picked up one of the top offensive linemen and one of the top running backs hitting the market, which is a rarity in the past few offseasons for this team due to cap restraints.
David Edwards being brought in on a major new contract is a huge pickup for New Orleans, one that could define their offensive line and run game for years to come, and there were many factors playing into it. One of the most notable was actually his friendship with former Saints All-Pro offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk, who told him New Orleans was a special city.
“Yeah, Ram was a great friend of mine and is a great friend of mine,” Edwards said during his introductory press conference. “You know going back to our time at Wisconsin. And the one thing he had talked about was just how great of a place this is. And so that was a very common theme with the people that I’ve talked to, Aaron Kromer, you know, guys that have been in this building. And so there’s a common theme I feel like and it starts with people. And so Ram was someone that I really looked up to when I was a player at Wisconsin and then even as a young player in this league ’cause he was so good. And so he’s a guy I’m definitely going to lean on as this process continues out because of our friendship and the experience that he had here.”
Even after retiring a few seasons ago, Ramczyk is making a major impact on this Saints roster. Despite the connection between Edwards and newly acquired coach Will Clapp from their playing career, it supposedly did not have as much of an impact on his decision.
Clapp was careful to clear the air: “Yeah, we did not talk. The one thing though that I would say is that you know when he was in Buffalo, we would sit outside of our practice field and we had like a council, we called it a council, and fellowship, and we would talk about just different things, coaches we’ve had, try to solve the world’s problems, etcetera. But one thing that always stuck with me was how highly he spoke about Kellen Moore and Brendan Nugent. That always stuck with me. And so when this decision was coming down to it, just referencing the things that he had spoke about, you know, years ago, really made an impact.”
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It would be fitting for Edwards to get his first few All-Pro appearances with the Saints now and try to catch up to Ramczyk, a former Wisconsin teammate of his back in 2016, who retired with three. Regardless, his impact on this newly built offense for New Orleans will be immense and may help rejuvenate a running attack that was extremely depleted in 2025.
