For the last few seasons heading into 2025, defensive back Ugo Amadi had been a key contributor in the New Orleans Saints secondary. Listed as a safety, Amadi had also been used as a slot corner and inside the tackle box. The versatile Amadi was expected to continue to be a contributor even as the Saints transitioned to a new defense under coordinator Brandon Staley.
New Orleans had almost an entirely new secondary entering 2026. Starters Marshon Lattimore , Paulson Adebo , Tyrann Mathieu , and Will Harris were all gone, leaving the door open for new contributors. As one of the few returning defensive backs, it was expected that Amadi would at least be in the mix for playing time.
Position: Safety
Age: 28
Height: 5-feet, 9 inches
Weight: 201 pounds
NFL experience: 7 years (3 with Saints)
2025 season: 7 games
Amadi came to New Orleans in 2023 as a free agent. Over his first two seasons with the team he'd appear in 28 games as a slot corner and safety. In 2024, Amadi had 527 defensive snaps in various roles and had re-signed with the team last offseason on a one-year contract. Amadi made the active roster coming out of preseason, but his contributions were not what they'd been in past seasons.
In the regular season opener against Arizona , Amadi got 18 snaps on special teams but none on defense. That would be the theme for most of the 2025 campaign. In fact, the one defensive play Amadi got in Week 3 against Seattle was the only one he'd get all year on that side of the ball. After 72 special teams snaps over the first five weeks, Amadi didn't see the field again until Week 14 in December, playing two of the final five games on special teams. He was often a healthy game-day scratch, unable to make a dent in what turned out to be a strong secondary.
Ugo Amadi saw only 97 total snaps in seven games for the Saints this past season, with all but one coming on the kicking units. It's hard to argue with the logic, as a young New Orleans secondary helped the defense to rank fourth against the pass. Now a free agent, it's hard to envision Amadi back with the Saints. The team is stocked at safety, will likely look to add a new slot corner, and will probably retool a special teams unit that was among the worst in the NFL.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints 2025 Year in Review: Ugo Amadi overlooked in new secondary
