andrus peat – Syndication Server

Taliese Fuaga can keep wearing his college jersey number with the Saints

Taliese Fuaga hasn’t chosen his New Orleans Saints jersey number, but his college number is open. It just might not make Andrus Peat too happy:

Taliese Fuaga hasn’t chosen which number he’ll wear with the New Orleans Saints just yet, but his college number is open if he wants to keep wearing it. There’s just one little thing: Fuaga claiming the No. 75 jersey might not make Andrus Peat too happy.

That’s the number Peat wore for nine years with the Saints. His contract voided in March, making him a free agent and making No. 75 available. The team hasn’t expressed much interest in bringing him back. Both Mickey Loomis and Dennis Allen shared lukewarm responses when asked about his availability.

So Peat may not be interested in re-signing with the Saints anyway. Having his jersey hanging in someone else’s locker (assuming the Saints don’t give it to Fuaga anyway) wouldn’t make it very appealing. Teams will be looking to sign veteran linemen after the draft, once they know what their depth charts look like, and Peat could have better opportunities waiting than what he’d find in New Orleans. We’ll have to wait and see where he ends up, and which number Fuaga ultimately chooses to wear.

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James Hurst retiring exacerbates Saints’ woeful offensive line

The Saints offensive line was already in rough shape before James Hurst called it a career. His absence exacerbates a bad situation:

It’s tough to think of a setup worse than the New Orleans Saints’ offensive line right now. Of last year’s five starters, only two are locks to return in their spots for 2024: Pro Bowl center Erik McCoy and right guard Cesar Ruiz.

Left tackle is undecided with the Saints expected to draft competition for Trevor Penning this weekend. Right tackle is an open wound with Ryan Ramczyk facing the very real possibility of a medical retirement. And left guard is now looking worse with James Hurst retiring from pro football.

The Saints need more reinforcements than they can afford with their current draft picks (just two selections inside this year’s top 100) and salary cap space (a little over $8 million). They need to find at least two starting-quality linemen, but three would do a lot to help build confidence in the group.

Look further into their depth chart and you’ll see names like Olisaemeka Udoh (who has played both tackle and guard under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak), Nick Saldiveri, Landon Young, Mark Evans II, and Tommy Kraemer. No disrespect to those guys but this group isn’t ready to handle 17 games and a playoff run.

Drafting a first-round offensive lineman isn’t enough to get them there, either. Picking a new starting right tackle (like, say, Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga) won’t cure what’s ailing them at left tackle or left guard. The Saints should continue to explore their options later in the draft and in free agency. There are starting-quality linemen still available with experience in the system New Orleans wants to run like Mekhi Becton (who has started at both left and right tackle) and Dalton Risner (a career left guard). They should really look at bringing back Andrus Peat at some point, too, if nothing else than to reinforce the depth chart.

They can patch some holes in the hull, but it feels like a certainty that the Saints will have to set sail with some concerning vulnerabilities and hope for the best. We’ll see how far hope takes them.

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B/R found the perfect destination for former Saints starter in free agency

Andrus Peat remains unsigned in free agency, but Bleacher Report believes he’d be a perfect fit for this AFC Super Bowl contender:

There are still plenty of New Orleans Saints free agents searching for their new team, and the most notable of them might be Andrus Peat. New Orleans declined to re-sign Peat and in turn suffered a $13 million dead cap hit. Saints head coach Dennis Allen has left the door open to Peat returning to New Orleans this offseason, but the team signed Oli Udoh to fill a similar role on the depth chart.

So where could Peat end up? Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay thinks the former Saint would be a perfect fit with the Cincinnati Bengals, writing:

The Cincinnati Bengals would be a great fit for Peat, especially after they let incumbent tackle Jonah Williams walk in free agency and brought in Trent Brown as his replacement on the right side of the line. Brown has a history of inconsistent play and could struggle to live up to the $4.8 million deal he inked this offseason.

The great part of Peat’s skill set is he has the versatility to play guard or tackle. Peat has been viewed as a tackle in the offseason by publications ignoring his more expansive history as a guard. Signing right tackle Trent Brown doesn’t take Peat off the table at all. He’ll be inexpensive and can compete at both tackle or guard on the left side.

The offseason has been quiet for Peat. The versatile offensive lineman has visited with the Titans, but nothing came from it. Pairing him with the Bengals makes a lot of sense. Their Super Bowl window remains open, and protecting Joe Burrow will be imperative to ensuring it doesn’t close. Peat will help fortify their protection. He’d also be joining some familiar faces in Cincinnati like former Saints draft picks Trey Hendrickson, Sheldon Rankins, and Vonn Bell.

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Bengals suggested as fit for big free-agent OL

Should the Bengals go after this free agent?

The Cincinnati Bengals remain a team that looks like it could add further help to the offensive line this offseason.

While many of the projections focus on the Bengals doing so during the draft after the addition of Trent Brown, that’s not the case for all.

Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay, for example, projects the Bengals as a nice fit for free agent veteran tackle Andrus Peat:

The Bengals are well-positioned for a bounce-back year with a healthy Joe Burrow returning under center, but their hopes of a deep playoff run could be quickly derailed by offensive line injuries. Peat would provide Cincinnati with an ideal insurance option in case Brown doesn’t live up to expectations, along with some much-needed depth at guard.

What’s interesting about Peat is that, while he was forced into playing left tackle last year, he’s spent the bulk of a very productive career at left guard. That’s another area the Bengals could seek to upgrade this offseason to give Cordell Volson some competition.

But like Trent Brown, Peat is another free agent at this stage of the market with availability issues, as he’s played in 13 or more games just two times since 2019.

Still, Peat is a name to keep in mind at this stage, especially if the team doesn’t go offensive line early in the draft.

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15 free agent offensive linemen the Seahawks could consider signing

Here are 15 free agents who could be on the Seahawks’ list.

Seahawks general manager John Schenider told ESPN 710 radio last week that the team would be hosting a couple veteran free agent offensive linemen in this second phase of free agency. Schneider was not so kind as to include the names of the players who will be visiting the VMAC, presumably some time this week.

While we don’t know who, we can make some educated guesses. Based on what their roster looks like right now, we can probably assume the team is interested primarily in interior offensive linemen who have at least a few years of experience playing in the NFL.

For one thing, the team is already set at tackle with Charles Cross, Abe Lucas, Stone Forsythe, George Fant and Raiqwon O’Neal rounding out the OT rotation. So, we’ll ignore tackles for now. The team does have a couple of options at center. However, neither of them have much experience at this level. So, we’ll include a few names there, but focus mostly on guards who are at least 26 years old. With those parameters in mind, here are 15 free agents who could be on the Seahawks’ list.

Seattle fans respond to ‘rumor’ Tyler Lockett may be expendable

ESPN says the Saints still have a major roster hole ahead of 2024 draft

ESPN’s Bill Barnwell says the Saints have yet to address a major team need going into the 2024 NFL draft. It’s obvious they need more help at offensive tackle:

It’s hardly a surprise to see someone suggesting the New Orleans Saints aren’t good enough at offensive tackle — watching any of their games from last season will give them all the proof they need to back that statement up. Still, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell took a deeper dive than most in exploring why this is such a problem, and how the Saints can clean it up.

The good news is that the Saints have just one outgoing free agent at the position, and it shouldn’t be hard to re-sign them; the question is whether Andrus Peat will agree to return to New Orleans at a price point that makes sense for the team, or if he’ll try to find a better offer in free agency. Barnwell says that’s the easiest solution for their problem at left tackle, where Trevor Penning hasn’t met expectations.

But James Hurst had a rough year at left guard and Ryan Ramczyk’s degenerative knee condition makes leaning on him tricky. So far, the team has only added Oli Udoh, one of first-year offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s former players on the Minnesota Vikings. Here’s how Barnwell laid it out:

Hurst and Ramczyk took pay cuts to stay as opposed to the sort of classic contract restructures the Saints use in which they pay a player in full but spread the money over five seasons. The only addition they have made on the edge is Udoh, who had served as a utility lineman for the Vikings before tearing his quadriceps muscle in September and missing most of the 2023 season. He’s more likely a replacement for Hurst as the swing lineman (with Hurst penciled in as the full-time left guard) than a potential starting tackle. Landon Young, who took over for Ramczyk in December before getting injured himself, is also on the roster.

Young was less-than-impressive when stepping in for Ramczyk, and he suffered his own injury that sidelined him for the last two weeks of the season; veteran backup Cameron Erving (an unsigned free agent, at the moment) came up from the practice squad to take his place. If nothing else, the Saints need more depth than they worked with a year ago. Signing Peat could achieve that but the Saints could have already brought him back if they viewed him as a priority. Head coach Dennis Allen has left the door open for a reunion but it doesn’t sound very likely.

So what’s the best path forward? Again, Barnwell argues, re-signing Peat could make the most sense. But it’s not the only option. Here’s what he proposes with the 2024 NFL draft on the horizon:

It would have made sense to agree to a deal with Peat before the start of the new league year to mitigate the dead money on his deal, but the Saints might have been more optimistic then about Ramczyk’s chances of being healthy. Peat’s market hasn’t developed, and there aren’t many other players left in free agency with a track record of playing left tackle. David Bakhtiari and Mekhi Becton have significant injury histories, and Peat might have been better than Charles Leno and Donovan Smith a year ago. Reuniting with Peat would also afford New Orleans the flexibility of moving Hurst to left tackle and bumping Peat back inside to guard.

The Saints also have the 14th overall pick and could use that on a tackle prospect, but would there be any hesitation on their end after seemingly swinging and missing on Penning? This organization has used five first- or second-round picks on offensive linemen going back to Peat’s selection in 2015, and while that’s a perfectly reasonable way to build a football team, they have needs elsewhere that they can’t fill with high-end veterans in free agency. At the same time, if they’ve given up on Penning and Ramczyk can’t play, they might need to re-sign Peat and use their top pick on an offensive lineman.

The Saints have invested a ton of draft capital into their offensive line over the years and going back to that well might be their best path forward. We’ll have to see if they make any more additions in free agency over the next month, or if they’re counting on one of their early-round picks (at Nos. 14 and 45 overall) to cure what ails them.

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Dennis Allen leaves the door open to an Andrus Peat return

Andrus Peat remains on the market despite a free agent visit with the Titans. A return to the Saints could help both parties, at the right cost:

Dennis Allen met with media at the NFC coaches breakfast on Tuesday during NFL owners meetings in Orlando, Fla., and he touched on a range of topics. One of those centered on free agent offensive lineman Andrus Peat, who has yet to sign with a team despite visiting the Tennessee Titans after his Saints contract expired.

“I think all things are on the table in terms of how we want to fill out our roster,” Allen said Tuesday. That’s hardly an endorsement for bringing Peat back, but it isn’t a door-slams-shut moment, either. “And so there’s a business aspect that goes along with all these decisions, so we’ll see.”

That sounds like the typical coach-speak to say the door is open on Peat returning to the team. This is likely just a sign there’s no bad blood between him and the team, but a return should be firmly on the table. The Saints do not have the luxury of being comfortable at offensive line.

The one move the Saints made in that position group was signing Oli Udoh. Udoh is a depth signing with limited potential. When you break down his value to New Orleans, it’s very similar to Peat but with seemingly a lower floor. Udoh is a depth piece that provides versatility at left guard and left tackle. He’s played both position, but has limited starting experience in the NFL at either spot.

Peat on the other hand has a lot of experience at both left guard and tackle. He could easily start at either position next year. The longer he stays on the market could be a sign of his value to teams. Udoh can improve depth but his presence shouldn’t deter a reunion with Peat, at the right price. With Trevor Penning’s progress stalling out at left tackle and Ryan Ramczyk’s future in doubt at right tackle, they need to make more moves.

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10 best available free agents to fit Raiders needs

It’s Friday, which means the end of the work week. It also means it’s been two work weeks since the free agent market opened for business. The Raiders handled their number one business, which was to land top free agent defensive tackle Christian Wilkins. His addition along with the return of Adam Butler and John Jenkins helped to solidify the definsive interior, but that still leaves them with plenty to do to get this team in good shape headed into the draft.

They have some $28.3 million in cap room with which to try and add some upgrades, competition, and insurance at several position still in need. And there is still some talent out there who could provide what they need.

This is the top ten free agents still on the market who could come in and fill a need position for the Raiders.

Saints guaranteed every dollar of Chase Young’s $13 million contract

The New Orleans Saints guaranteed every dollar of Chase Young’s $13 million contract. But his real salary cap hit might be much lower:

Whew. This is a big deal. The New Orleans Saints guaranteed every dollar of their $13 million contract with free agent defensive end Chase Young, as reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter and confirmed by CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson.

But as is always the case with this team, don’t expect that to mean a simple $13 million salary cap charge on their accounting books. Depending on how this deal is structured, Young’s cap hit for 2024 could be as low as $3.5 million. Here’s how the accounting would look with four “ghost years” set to void at the end of the 2024 league year:

2024 salary: $1,125,000; signing bonus proration: $2,375,000
2025 signing bonus proration: $2,375,000
2026 signing bonus proration: $2,375,000
2027 signing bonus proration: $2,375,000
2028 signing bonus proration: $2,375,000

The risk in doing this is that the Saints would be left with a dead money cap charge of $9.5 million next offseason should Young not re-sign on a new deal.

But the Saints have shown us before they’re comfortable paying that if need be. Andrus Peat is counting against the cap by more than $13.6 million and Marcus Maye has a dead money hit of $8.1 million for 2024 — and they both visited the Tennessee Titans on Monday as free agents who the Saints chose to let go. They paid comparable dead money hits in 2023 for David Onyemata ($10.1 million) and Marcus Davenport ($7.6 million).

If this is the route the Saints go, choosing to create short-term flexibility while jeopardizing future cap resources, it’s only a problem if Young fails to perform as expected in 2024. If he turns out to be a free agent bust and both sides move on, well: the Saints will have bigger problems to worry about than where 3.4% of their salary cap is going. It’ll mean the pass rush failed to show up, again, and that the team lost a lot of games. And that Dennis Allen probably isn’t their head coach anymore. So when you take a big-picture view, this isn’t as big a gamble for the Saints at it might look at first glance.

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Saints free agent OL Andrus Peat visiting Titans on Monday

New Orleans Saints free agent Andrus Peat is visiting the Tennessee Titans on Monday. The veteran offensive lineman could be in high demand:

New Orleans Saints free agent Andrus Peat is visiting the Tennessee Titans on Monday, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The veteran offensive lineman could be in high demand after playing well at left tackle in 2023, having spent most of his NFL career at left guard.

If Peat is signed away by another team, the Saints will not receive a compensatory pick in the 2025 NFL draft. That’s because he agreed to a reworked contract last summer which cost him a pay cut, with the Saints agreeing to tear up the last year of his deal, allowing him to reach free agency ahead of schedule.

That’s a tough break seeing as the Saints are forfeiting $13,638,000 in dead money after past restructures with Peat. That’s how much salary cap space they’ll be without if he’s playing elsewhere, without the promise of a comp pick coming back in next year’s draft.

But it might be necessary. Peat has struggled with injuries throughout his career, being limited to 111 of 147 possible games in the regular season. The Saints overpaid him relative to performance and have had to work around his contract for a while, so this dead money cap hit isn’t anything new. If this is it for Peat in New Orleans, he’ll be off the books altogether in 2025. And if he’s leaving the Saints need to invest in a quality insurance policy should Trevor Penning continue to struggle at left tackle.

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