The New Orleans Saints are about to play a game without Zach Wood for the first time in nearly a decade.
Head coach Kellen Moore announced Friday that Wood, the Saints’ veteran long snapper, will be placed on injured reserve because of a calf injury.
The move will interrupt a remarkable run of availability. Wood has handled New Orleans’ long-snapping duties in 150 consecutive regular-season games since joining the Saints in 2017. That streak will end Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens.
And while long snapper is designed to be an anonymous job, changing one two days before a game is hardly anonymous to the kicker and punter relying on him.
Zach Wood is going to IR.
Zach Wood Injury Ends Rare Saints Streak
Wood’s injury first surfaced this week after he experienced calf discomfort and underwent testing.
ESPN’s Katherine Terrell reported that Wood suffered a Grade II calf strain and was expected to miss roughly four to six weeks. The Saints listed him as a non-participant in Thursday’s practice before Moore confirmed the IR decision Friday.
The timing is notable because Wood essentially has not left the Saints’ lineup since arriving in New Orleans.
The 33-year-old entered this season having handled every regular-season long snap for the Saints since 2017, 149 straight games before adding No. 150 in the Week 1 loss to Detroit. He has also appeared in seven postseason games for New Orleans.
Wood’s value inside the building goes beyond the snaps.
He was voted a Saints captain again for 2026, his fourth consecutive season with that designation. He is also the second-longest-tenured player on the roster, according to his team biography.
Durability had effectively become part of the job description.
Not anymore.
Scott Daly in Position to Replace Zach Wood
New Orleans did not wait long to address the vacancy.
The Saints brought in three long snappers for workouts Thursday — Scott Daly, Luke Basso and Niko Lalos — before signing Daly to the practice squad.
Daly brings considerably more NFL experience than the average emergency specialist.
The former Notre Dame long snapper has appeared in 76 regular-season games, primarily with the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears. He served as Detroit’s primary long snapper from 2021 through 2023 before holding the job for Chicago in 2024 and 2025.
That makes him the logical short-term answer for Wood.
The transition still matters.
Long snapping depends on repetition and timing with both the holder and kicker. New Orleans now has to integrate Daly into that operation immediately, with the Saints preparing to visit Baltimore on Sept. 20.
Wood had provided the exact opposite situation for nine-plus seasons: no transition at all.
Saints Lose Captain Ahead of Ravens Game
The IR designation also turns what initially looked like an isolated specialist injury into another roster adjustment during an already busy Week 2.
Wood joined a Thursday injury report that also included Chris Olave and Chase Young as limited participants, while Isaiah Stalbird did not practice.
For Wood, however, there is no Sunday decision coming.
His absence against Baltimore will be his first since joining the Saints in September 2017.
That is 150 straight regular-season appearances, nine full seasons and one game into a 10th before a calf injury finally interrupted the run.
For a player whose job is noticed most when something goes wrong, Wood had spent almost a decade giving the Saints very little reason to notice him at all.
New Orleans Saints Announce IR Move That Ends 150-Game Streak