Saints officially move veteran Chris Rumph II to full-time linebacker

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Saints officially move veteran Chris Rumph II to full-time linebacker

Saints officially move veteran Chris Rumph II to full-time linebacker

Arye Pulli, Saints Wire · Saints Wire

Fri, Jul 31, 2026 ·

2 min read

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The experiment is over. Chris Rumph II, the New Orleans Saints ' veteran edge defender, has officially been moved to linebacker on a full-time basis. The Saints began discussing the change during the offseason as they sought additional ways to leverage Rumph's versatility. He received his first work off the ball near the end of organized team activities, then continued in the new role throughout the first couple of training camp practices.

"It was just an offseason discussion of trying to find as much value as we can for him in various roles," head coach Kellen Moore said on Thursday . "He's played really good football on the edge in the NFL for a long time. He's obviously a big-time special teams player."

Rumph is still capable of lining up on the edge and contributing as a pass rusher when needed. However, the Saints believe their depth at the position allows them to expand his responsibilities rather than keeping him limited to just one role.

"We feel good about our edges, but how can we add some components that maybe put him off the ball?" Moore said. "He started it right at the end of OTAs, the last few days, and he's gotten a lot of exposure early in camp so far. I thought it's been really good."

Rumph appeared in all 17 games during his first season with the Saints as a contributor on defense as well as emerging as one of the team's most important special-teams players. Rushing from the edge, playing off the ball, and handling a significant special-teams workload gives the Saints flexibility when working through its game-day roster.

Still, the Saints might move Rumph around depending on the matchup. His permanent, primary position, though, is now linebacker.