Former Saints safety Steve Gleason, former Titans LB Tim Shaw to be honorary captains for Week 1 matchup

Former NFL players Steve Gleason and Tim Shaw will serve as honorary captains for Sunday’s Week 1 matchup between the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans. The two teams want to bring more awareness for ALS.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that both Dennis Allen and Mike Vrabel agreed to Sunday’s arrangement. The two head coaches “agreed on the importance of honoring these two men for their respective clubs to help bring inspiration to others as well as raise awareness to the disease with the hope that a cure can be found,” per Schefter.

Former Saints’ safety Steve Gleason and former Titans’ linebacker Tim Shaw, each of whom is battling ALS, will serve as honorary team captains for Sunday’s opener. Saints’ HC Dennis Allen and Titans’ HC Mike Vrabel agreed on the importance of honoring these two men for their…

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 8, 2023

Gleason was a defensive back for the Saints from 2000-06. He played in 83 career games and accounted for 65 total tackles while in the NFL.

Shaw spent time with four different organizations in the NFL, ending his career with the Titans from 2010-12. Prior to his time in Tennessee, he played for the Carolina Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Chicago Bears.

Tim Shaw, Mike Vrabel release statements

“I am so fortunate and grateful to get to be so involved with the Titans,” Shaw said in an email, per the Titans’ team page. “Being an honorary captain for a game would be cool, but what makes this so special is to be doing it with Steve. Steve has been a role model for me since day one of my diagnosis. And not just a role model, but a friend.”

Over the course of his NFL career, Shaw tallied 128 tackles and forced three fumbles.

“Hopefully we can bring awareness to an awful disease that has taken two warriors and put them in a chair,” Vrabel said. “But they are fighting their own fight and spreading the word and raising a lot of money.

“Being able just to see first-hand what that disease can do, from the time that I got here to where Tim is now, it is great that he can come in here and (be with us) and it is always such a great reminder of how lucky we are, how fortunate we are, to be able to do what we do, be able to play this game and coach this game.”   

Tennessee and New Orleans square off at Caesars Superdome on Sunday. This weekend’s game marks the first regular season meeting between the two teams since 2021.

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday. The game airs on CBS.