Pete Werner

Pete Werner (born June 5, 1999) is an American professional football linebacker for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes and was selected by the Saints in the second round of the 2021 NFL draft.

Early life Werner grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana, and attended Cathedral High School. Werner initially committed to play college football at Notre Dame at the end of his junior year over offers from Duke, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt and Wisconsin. 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 New Orleans Saints selected Werner in the second round (60th overall) of the 2021 NFL draft. 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 that includes $2.41 million guaranteed upon signing and a signing bonus of $1.49 million.

During the beginning of training camp, Werner competed against second-year veteran Zack Baun to be the starting weakside linebacker. Head coach Sean Payton named Werner the primary backup weakside linebacker, after the Saints signed Kwon Alexander 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.

On January 1, 2022, Werner received a fine of $5,472 from the NFL due to a Horse-collar tackle on Miami Dolphins' running back Duke Johnson.

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.

NFL career statistics Legend Bold Career high

Regular season Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD FF Fmb FR Yds TD 2021 NO 15 8 62 36 26 0.0 4 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2022 NO 12 11 80 56 24 0.0 3 0 0 0.0 0 0 3 2 0 0 0 0 2023 NO 16 16 93 60 33 0.5 4 1 0 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 0 2024 NO 13 13 92 54 38 0.0 3 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2025 NO 17 15 81 50 31 2.0 4 0 0 0.0 0 0 5 0 0 3 0 0Career 73 63 408 256 152 2.5 18 1 0 0.0 0 0 10 2 0 5 3 0

Personal life Werner's father, Greg Werner, played college football at DePauw University and in the NFL for two seasons with the New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles. His older brother Dan played college football at Harvard.