Whatever news the New Orleans Saints have received in the last month about Ryan Ramczyk’s health has drastically changed their tone on his 2024 outlook. At the end of February, Dennis Allen described Ramczyk’s surgery as a little clean-up procedure, and said “He’s got a knee that he and we are going to have to manage, but we feel much better about where he’s at today than where he was a month, month and a half ago.”
Fast forward a month and now it’s unsure if he’ll play next season at all. Allen shared bad news with reporters at NFL ownership meetings on Tuesday. It sounds like the surgery was initially thought to be successful, but Ramczyk’s knee is not responding well. This is concerning for the future. His knee has been an issue for a while. The Saints have been mitigating it with set rest days during the week. If his knee isn’t responding well to the surgery, his career may be over. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the Saints are bracing for life without him in 2024 and, possibly, beyond.
Offensive tackle now jumps back to the top of the list of Saints draft needs. You can’t hope Ramczyk will fully recover over the next five months. You need to plan for his replacement. Not doing so will only set New Orleans up for failure. Ramczyk could end up being healthy enough to play next season, but it’s clear his time in football is winding down.
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