Congratulations! Ring of honor inductee, Jahri Evans, surprised with the announcement 🥹
Well deserved, @J_7TRE_E! ⚜️ pic.twitter.com/zeFRF7xgBV
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) August 1, 2024
News recently broke that legendary New Orleans Saints offensive lineman Jahri Evans would be the next addition to the team’s Ring of Honor, one of the most prestigious honors a player can receive with the black and gold. Evans has worked with the coaching staff since 2022, when he started as a training camp intern, and was hired full-time as an assistant coach since 2023.
So it’s convenient that he was on hand when head coach Dennis Allen announced his induction during a team meeting. It allowed Evans to speak in front of players and coaches about what this means to him. The announcement came to thunderous applause, and Evans stood to speak about what an honor this is to him.
“I don’t know what to say, you know what I mean, this is,” Evans said. “I was not expecting this. I’m holding back tears.”
He continued: “This is awesome man, it was always a dream of mine to play this game, and when I got the opportunity to play it, it was as hard as I could, as tough as I could, and the biggest thing was winning games. Biggest thing is winning games as a team, not letting my teammates down, you know? And, obviously having the chance to win a Super Bowl.”
He addressed the team for about two minutes, and with how uncommon these inductions are (Allen noted that there are just seven people in the Saints Ring of Honor), it is great to see how special it really is to Evans and those around him. It’s almost as exclusive as the Pro Football Hall of Fame; Evans reached the finalist stage last time after reaching the semifinalist stage in his first year of eligibility. He just needs to get over that last hurdle.
Evans will be formally inducted to the Saints Ring of Honor at halftime of their Nov. 17 game with the Cleveland Browns.
