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The New Orleans Saints offensive line has struggled to get going without their starting center, but it sure sounds like he’s close to returning. The Spun’s Chris Rosvoglou interviewed Erik McCoy about his injury situation and his outlook on the 2021 season, and found that he’s eager to get back on the field.
What’s a little confusing about McCoy’s situation is that he never landed on injured reserve. After exiting Week 1’s win over the Green Bay Packers early on with a calf issue, the team chose to keep him on the 53-man roster for the next six weeks. That’s something they didn’t have to do considering the NFL modified its injured reserve rules to allow players to return to action after three weeks of rest.
“I’ll tell you right now I’m feeling really good about coming back. I don’t know really much about the I.R. thing, that’s a little out of my tax bracket,” McCoy joked. “But I’m feeling ready to come back. Mentally, physically, emotionally, I’m ready to.”
McCoy added that the return date he’s circled on his calendar is Oct. 25 — New Orleans’ road game with the Seattle Seahawks. He’ll still need to go through practice sessions this week before getting cleared to play, but if he’s checked all those boxes as he’s said he has, there’s no reason he shouldn’t be snapping the ball to Jameis Winston on Monday night.
He only missed six snaps (all in one game) out of the 2,332 plays the Saints ran on offense since drafting him, including the playoffs, so this extended absence has been unprecedented for him. He’s rightfully as excited as any fan to get back in the lineup and continue playing at a high level. Hopefully we’ll see just that in this week’s Seahawks game.
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