Pete Werner (born June 5, 1999) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, ...

and was selected by the Saints in the second round of the

2021 NFL draft The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland, Ohio from April 29 to May ...

Early life

Werner grew up in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, and attended Cathedral High School. Werner initially committed to play

at Notre Dame at the end of his junior year over offers from

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

, Northwestern,

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

, Vanderbilt and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. As a senior, he recorded 64 tackles, with 17 tackles for loss and eight sacks and was named Class 6A All-State. Werner de-committed from Notre Dame during the season and re-opened his recruitment before opting to attend Ohio State.

College career

Werner recorded nine tackles as a true freshman. He had 58 tackles including 7.5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles in his sophomore season. As a junior, Werner recorded 64 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, two fumbles recovered and three passes broken up and was named honorable mention All-Big Ten Conference.

Professional career

The

selected Werner in the second round (60th overall) of the

. Werner was the sixth linebacker drafted in 2021. On June 8, 2021, the New Orleans Saints signed Werner to a four-year, $5.64 million

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

that includes $2.41 million guaranteed upon signing and a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $1.49 million. During the beginning of training camp, Werner competed against second-year veteran

Zack Baun Zack Baun (born December 30, 1996) is an American professional football linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers and was selected by the New Orleans Saints ...

to be the starting weakside linebacker. Head coach

Sean Payton Patrick Sean Payton (born December 29, 1963) is an American professional football coach and former quarterback who is the head coach for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Previously, he served as the head coach of the Ne ...

named Werner the primary backup weakside linebacker, after the Saints signed

Kwon Alexander Kwon Alexander (born August 3, 1994) is an American professional American football, football linebacker. He played college football for the LSU Tigers football, LSU Tigers. He was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fourth round of the 2 ...

to become the starter. On September 9, 2021, Werner made his professional regular season debut, appearing on special teams before exiting the Saints' 38-3 home-opening victory over the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

. On January 1, 2022, Werner received a fine of $5,472 from the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

due to a Horse-collar tackle on Miami Dolphins' running back

Duke Johnson Randy "Duke" Johnson Jr. (born September 23, 1993) is an American former professional football running back who played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the third round (77th overall) ...

. On August 8, 2024, the New Orleans Saints signed Werner to a three–year, $22.50 million contract extension that includes $17.43 million guaranteed, $11.18 million guaranteed upon signing, and a signing bonus of $5.50 million.

Personal life

Werner's father, Greg Werner, played college football at

DePauw University DePauw University ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Greencastle, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1837 as Indiana Asbury College and changed its name to DePauw University in 1884. The college has a Methodist heritage and was ...

and in the NFL for two seasons with the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

and

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

. His older brother Dan played college football at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

. His younger cousin is a successful wholesaler for a large asset manager.

References

External links

New Orleans Saints bioOhio State Buckeyes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Werner, Pete 1999 births Living people American football linebackers New Orleans Saints players Ohio State Buckeyes football players Players of American football from Indianapolis Cathedral High School (Indianapolis) alumni American people of German descent