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Max Unger stepped away from the New Orleans Saints once he felt his body couldn’t hold up to much more punishment after a decade in the NFL, but he’s been as excited as anyone to see how the team went about replacing the three-time Pro Bowler.
Unger reflected on life in retirement and his new perspective of watching games as a fan in a teleconference call with New Orleans media, taking time to praise Erik McCoy — the top Saints draft pick in 2019 that stepped in to snap the ball to Drew Brees.
“The guy came in there and just played his butt off. I watched him quite a bit,” Unger said. “I talk to Dan (Roushar), our coach, off and on and he just had nothing but really good stuff to say about how Erik played. It was impressive. The guy came in, I think he started every game, right? At center, that’s hard to do especially in this offense and Drew coming into the huddle and calling the plays at about 100 miles an hour.”
And while McCoy may have turned in a strong rookie year’s performance, the Saints brought in some competition to start at center by picking Michigan prospect Cesar Ruiz in the first round. Having released veteran right guard Larry Warford, the Saints have set themselves up to get the most out of both players, though it’s unclear just yet who lines up at which spot.
It’s something Unger is eager to see play out, even if watching games from his couch has been more stressful than anticipated. He said that he’s chatted with other retired Saints linemen like Zach Strief and John Stinchcomb on how to ease into life after football, but too often he’s felt helpless seeing his former teammates go to work without him.
Unger explained, “It’s funny because you’re so familiar with what’s going on in the team and you know the plays being called. It’s really hard to watch the games, honestly, just because you know what personnel group is in, if they’re in the red zone you kind of know what’s going on and you’re so invested in the players and how they’re doing. When you do not know what is going on and you do not have any influence in the outcome of the game it is tough.”
Whether McCoy or Ruiz ends up in Unger’s old spot, it’s clear that he’ll be cheering them on. His experience in New Orleans obviously endeared the team and city to him. But hopefully future Saints games won’t make him feel quite so anxious.
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