At first, Tyrann Mathieu was hard to find.

The New Orleans Saints safety had returned for the start of this week’s mandatory minicamp after sitting out the voluntary portion of the offseason. But if not for the No. 32 on his jersey, Mathieu would have blended into the crowd.

He wasn’t as easy to spot since his golden dreads were no longer there, flowing out of his helmet.

“(I was) trying to shave some years off,” Mathieu said with a smile.

Mathieu now sports a buzzcut after getting in a barber’s chair this offseason. And though the 33-year-old joked about wanting to feel younger ahead of his 13th season, Mathieu said the real reason for the makeover was that he was tired of his old look.

The decision, he said, wasn’t tough — even if it took some convincing at home.

“I just had to persuade my daughter,” he said. “Because all her brothers have long hair, she was looking at me strange for two days. And then finally she was like, ‘Dad, your hair looks good.’ ”

With his daughter’s approval, Mathieu is back with the Saints for another season. For the second straight year, he reworked his contract to stay — this time agreeing to lower his $6.25 million base salary for a one-year, $4 million deal. This time around, however, Mathieu’s contract also comes with a new defense.

After missing the team’s voluntary workouts, Mathieu will have to get up to speed in defensive coordinator Brandon Staley’s scheme. The lack of familiarity perhaps explains why Mathieu’s snaps were limited Tuesday. The safety said he was on a “pitch count,” held somewhere in the range of 7-10 plays during seven-on-sevens.

But Mathieu is optimistic. As he stood at his locker, he recalled facing Staley’s Los Angeles Chargers when he was still with the Kansas City Chiefs — and how hard Staley’s defenses played.

“Even from the back-end perspective, I always felt like the safeties were very involved,” he said. “They played a lot of top-down (coverages). You can go watch Derwin James’ film, a couple of other guys’ film. I think that’s exciting.”

The next few weeks and months will reveal how Mathieu fits in. He said he’s still learning his role, but added Staley’s system emphasizes vision and that plays to his strengths. Mathieu has had 10 interceptions in his past three seasons with the Saints, which ranks 10th in the NFL.

But if he retains his starting status, he’ll likely be paired with a new safety across from him. In March, the Saints signed Justin Reid from the Kansas City Chiefs to a three-year, $31.5 million deal in an attempt to shore up their secondary.

The two have history, however. Not only did Reid replace Mathieu in Kansas City in 2022, but the two spent one season together in Houston in 2018.

Reid, 28, was a rookie then.

“We’re two veterans in the backend now,” Reid said. “When I came in as a rookie, it was really following behind him. I learned so much from him. He had a big impact on the early stages of my career. And now we both come in with a wardrobe of experience.

“We both get to come in and add our own flavors to the defense.”

Mathieu said Reid’s addition can help with mentoring what is otherwise a young secondary. The Saints drafted safety Jonas Sanker and cornerback Quincy Riley, and projected starters Kool-Aid McKinstry and Alontae Taylor are entering their second and fourth seasons. Mathieu said communication will be key, so they’re on the same page come the fall.

Standing at his locker, Mathieu acknowledged outside expectations for the Saints aren’t the highest. The defense, in particular, is coming off a season having given up the third-most yards per game. Mathieu said the defense needs to tackle better as well as find a way to force more turnovers.

Still, change can be a good thing, Mathieu said. And the Saints have made plenty of changes sincelast season, starting with the hiring of coach Kellen Moore.

“I’m happy to be here,” Mathieu said.

Even though he looks a little different than usual.