La’Roi Glover – Saints All Pro Defensive Tackle

 Originally a 5th round pick of the Oakland Raiders from San Diego State in 1996 La’Roi Glover was considered too small to play NFL ball. When the Raiders cut him in 1997 and while the New Orleans Saints moved in to pick him up, he was still not without his critics. “Glover proved everybody wrong, especially our defensive coaches in New Orleans who initially thought he was too small to play in the middle of our 4-3,” Saints GM Bill Kuharich would later comment. “He turned out to be the greatest waiver claim in the history of the Saints.”

 Indeed he proved his worth and justified the move early. La’Roi ‘s first season in New Orleans may have been primarily as a backup defensive lineman but he still ended up with 6½ sacks and was credited with 33 tackles in 1997. By 1998 though he started all but 1 game and led the team with 10 sacks. He even had an interception. In 1999 he led the team a second time with 8½ sacks. Glover’s defining season though has got to be the 2000 NFL season – the year of the Saints first playoff victory. That year he not only tied a Saints franchise record of 17 sacks in a single season, he led the team as well as the NFL in bringing down opposing quarterbacks. His sole All-Pro year he was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year for 2000.

 After earning a second Pro Bowl selection in 2001 La’Roi Glover was signed by the Dallas Cowboys in 2002. New Orleans chose not to resign him due to salary cap issues. It proved to be a bad decision as the Saints entered a steady decline and he would go on to 5 straight Pro Bowl worthy seasons in Dallas. He ended his 13-year career with 3 seasons with the St. Louis Rams.

In 2013 he was inducted into the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame. As of the 2021 NFL season he still ranks #8 among all Saints players with 50 sacks.