Tag: andrus peat

Saints re-sign veteran offensive lineman Patrick Omameh

The New Orleans Saints re-signed veteran offensive lineman Patrick Omameh, who has started games at guard and played left tackle in a pinch.

The NFL’s transaction wire listed one roster move for the New Orleans Saints on Thursday: a reunion with Patrick Omameh, a 30-year-old offensive lineman with experience at both guard and tackle. Omameh re-signed with the Saints to fill out their roster at the maximum 90-man capacity.

Omameh took the field in 14 games for the Saints last season, starting at left tackle in the team’s Thanksgiving Day road victory over the Atlanta Falcons when injuries struck both the starter (Terron Armstead) and his initial backup (left guard Andrus Peat). Pro Football Reference credited Omameh with just one holding penalty on 156 snaps played on offense, also chipping in 74 appearances on special teams.

His return crowds the depth chart along the offensive line, which is exactly where most teams would want to be in the months before training camp. Omameh figures to compete at tackle with second-year pros Ethan Greenidge (out of Villanova) and Derrick Kelly (Florida State), as well as undrafted rookies Darrin Paulo (Utah), Calvin Throckmorton (Oregon), and Jordan Steckler (Northern Illinois).

He could also make a push for snaps at guard, where veteran backups like Nick Easton, Will Clapp, Cameron Tom, and college free agent Adrian Magee (LSU) will be jostling for a few valuable roster spots.

New Orleans boasts one of the NFL’s strongest offensive lines, but Omameh’s extensive experience could give him a leg up on his competition. He’s started full seasons at both left guard (for the Jacksonville Jaguars) and right guard (with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers), but showed last year he has the versatility to slide outside in a pinch. In a perfect world, the starting lineup will avoid injuries and other absences, and he’ll never get on the field. But it’s good to know that someone with a legit NFL background is pushing so many younger players for a covet spot on the 53-man roster.

How that competition will shake out is fascinating. The Saints have their starting five locked in (between Armstead, Peat, rookie center Cesar Ruiz, second-year starter Erik McCoy, and 2019 All-Pro Ryan Ramczyk), leaving just three or four spaces available on the opening-day depth chart. But the addition of two slots to the practice squad, which can be called up to the active roster on game days, might incentivize the Saints to keep Omameh around and gamble on some of their young guns passing through waivers to earn playing-time with the practice squad.

[vertical-gallery id=33239]

Why did the Saints choose Andrus Peat over Larry Warford?

The New Orleans Saints signed injury-prone left guard Andrus Peat to a big contract extension while cutting repeat-Pro Bowler Larry Warford.

[jwplayer AihxPLHO-ThvAeFxT]

If you were to go back to the initial days and weeks after the 2019 season wrapped up, polling fans on which of the New Orleans Saints guards would be around in 2020 and beyond, most would probably have suggested right guard Larry Warford rather than left guard Andrus Peat.

Warford is an ironman, with 107 starts under his belt (including the playoffs) and three trips to the Pro Bowl in each of his first three years in New Orleans, even if his play trailed off last season. Meanwhile, Peat has been perceived as an injury-prone anomaly who finally found his footing after washing out at left tackle, right tackle, and right guard, too. To his credit, Peat was also voted into the Pro Bowl in 2018 and 2019.

The analysts at Pro Football Focus graded Warford as a top-10 guard last year (clocking in at No. 8, with an overall grade of 75.8) while Peat was, well, less impressive (ranked at No. 70, due to a 48.5 grade).

Obviously, the Saints disagreed with the wisdom of the crowd. Peat was signed to a massive contract extension with $33 million in guarantees, whereas Warford was released after the team drafted his replacement in the first round (even if the jury’s out on whether rookie phenom Cesar Ruiz will slot in at guard or push Erik McCoy out of the center spot). Why did the Saints do that?

In all likelihood, this wasn’t an easy this-or-that decision. Smart teams like the Saints do thoughtfully allocate salary cap dollars to different position groups and specific players, but they probably didn’t sign Peat to a long-term contract with Warford’s uncertainty in mind. But what if they did?

Internal projections might have looked more favorably on Peat than Warford, if the team’s actions are any sign. Peat is just 26 years old and his issues have largely been connected to injuries — he missed a six-week chunk of the 2019 season with a broken arm, after 2018 was derailed by a concussion, sprained ankle, and broken hand, all of which followed a season-ending broken leg in 2017. He’s never suited up for a 16-game season, but the Saints are apparently betting big that he’ll begin to. If he can stay healthy, his level of play would probably skyrocket.

As for Warford: he’s turning 29 in June and has grappled with conditioning problems, which may have contributed to his less-than-satisfactory performance last year. The Saints were said to be unhappy with his game tape throughout the offseason, but it’s still surprising that they chose to punt on an accomplished player. If the goal all along was to upgrade from Warford, keeping him around as a backup along with the also-expensive Nick Easton (due more than $5.3 million against the salary cap this year) didn’t make sense. It’s worth noting that young reserves like Will Clapp and Cameron Tom have also logged meaningful NFL snaps.

Schematically, Warford hasn’t been the best fit in New Orleans. As pointed out by Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football, he was timed as one of the slowest guards in the NFL back at the Combine, which stands out in a bad way on one of the league’s fastest offensive line groups. Upgrading to a more mobile blocker like Ruiz or McCoy at his spot would do a lot to bring back the carefully-timed screen plays New Orleans was once known for.

So, the answer to our original question is that the Saints probably didn’t compare Peat and Warford before making a call. They did see an opportunity to get better up front by moving on from Warford, and separately took a chance on Peat putting his injuries behind him.

These sort of decisions are made with second- and third-year outlooks in mind, and the Saints must have preferred the vision of a 28-year-old Peat forming an interior trio with McCoy and Ruiz in 2021 rather than a 30-year-old Warford on a new contract. We’ll learn sooner or later whether they made the right choice.

[lawrence-related id=33428,30916,30628]

[vertical-gallery id=33239]

Report: Saints plan to move Erik McCoy to guard after picking Cesar Ruiz

The New Orleans Saints plan to move center Erik McCoy, their top 2019 draft pick, to guard after picking Michigan center Cesar Ruiz.

[jwplayer NLoBP6t7-ThvAeFxT]

The New Orleans Saints threw the NFL world a curve ball by selecting Michigan center/guard Cesar Ruiz in the first round of this year’s draft. But the surprises weren’t over just with that selection.

Per a report from Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, the Saints plan to start Ruiz at center and shift last year’s top draft pick, Erik McCoy, over to guard. And that’s dubious.

McCoy graded out as one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL last season, beyond just centers and rookies. He was a tremendous upgrade over Max Unger, who was forced into retirement after a long career’s worth of injuries wore his body down. Moving a good player to a spot he hasn’t played lately might not achieve the desired effect.

Especially considering the contract situations at play. The Saints paid out more than $30 million in guaranteed money to injury-prone left guard Andrus Peat earlier this offseason, while right guard Larry Warford has a salary cap hit north of $12 million — second-highest on the team. It’s possible that Warford could be traded soon so that Ruiz and McCoy can both get on the field together, but we’re too early in the process to say for sure.

Whatever happens next, fans should trust that the Saints know what they’re doing. They’ve hit on a number of high draft picks along the offensive line in recent years, including McCoy and right tackle Ryan Ramczyk. Regardless of who starts where, they’ve put together a solid evaluations process that’s led to success. This might be something that doesn’t get figured out until the Saints are a few weeks into training camp and can compare each player against the other.

Saints offensive line carrying rare continuity, elite performance into 2020 season

The New Orleans Saints offensive line measured among the best in the NFL by Football Outsiders, but their health and continuity is important

[jwplayer GXGOA9j2-ThvAeFxT]

Just how good is the New Orleans Saints offense line? After re-signing left guard Andrus Peat (a two-time Pro Bowl alternate), they’re set to return all five starters from lats year’s unit. That’s an impressive feat in itself, but it means a lot more after you dig into what the analytics have to say about offensive line performance around the league.

Fortunately, analysts like the crew at Football Outsiders are on the cutting edge of quantifying how well the big blockers up front play. The Football Outsiders staff contextualizes their main grades well with a number of different factors, but we’ll be focusing on two key categories to determine how the Saints perform: adjusted sack rate (reflecting performance in pass protection) and adjusted line yards (which demonstrates run blocking efficiency), which are each contextualized for factors like down, distance, and opponents.

We took things a step further and filtered the list down to the offensive lines that perform at an above-average rate in both categories. Just a dozen teams from around the NFL passed the test in both categories, achieving an adjusted sack rate of lower than 7% as well as an adjusted line yards average higher than 4.26. Here’s how the list shook out (ranked by an average of each team’s placement in the two metrics):

  1. Dallas Cowboys: 4.3% adjusted sack rate, 4.91 adjusted line yards
  2. New Orleans Saints: 4.7% ASR, 4.92 ALY
  3. Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders: 5.9% ASR, 4.63 ALY
  4. Baltimore Ravens: 6.0% ASR, 4.73 ALY
  5. New England Patriots: 5.3% ASR, 4.49 ALY
  6. Los Angeles rams: 3.7% ASR, 4.27 ALY
  7. Green Bay Packers: 6.4% ASR, 4.63 ALY
  8. Indianapolis Colts: 6.0% ASR, 4.41 ALY
  9. Minnesota Vikings: 6.7% ASR, 4.60 ALY
  10. Los Angeles Chargers: 6.2% ASR, 4.37 ALY
  11. San Francisco 49ers: 6.9% ASR, 4.53 ALY
  12. Philadelphia Eagles: 6.4% ASR, 4.34 ALY

That places the Saints right at the top, in a tier of their own with the Cowboys. Behind them are the Ravens and Raiders, with the Patriots, Rams, and Packers clustered together. The rest of the group is fairly evenly matched.

So how do the seven best units compare moving into 2020? Four of them are either replacing starters who retired or left in free agency, or working players back into the starting lineup after their 2019 season ended with injuries. The Saints are one of just three teams (joined by the Raiders and Rams) projected to start the 2020 season with the same starting five that they kicked off with in 2019. Of course that could change for all teams after the draft and once injuries start to take their toll, but at this early stage the Saints should rightfully be seen as the NFL’s best offensive line.

The continuity the Saints enjoy will be important, doubly so in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. With teams expected to have less practice time than usual during the offseason, any offensive lines adding new pieces could have a steeper learning curve once games begin. By keeping the same starters together with the same position coaches, the Saints should have an immediate edge not just on other elite units around the league, but the less-impressive lines already playing catch-up.

[vertical-gallery id=30751]

Mickey Loomis as surprised as anyone that the Saints re-signed so many free agents

New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis was pleasantly surprised by re-signing free agents like Andrus Peat and David Onyemata.

[jwplayer QfjzedKi-ThvAeFxT]

New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis spoke with John DeShazier of NewOrleansSaints.com on Friday, reviewing the opening weeks of free agency and surveying the status of the team while discussing the roster moves they have made already.

While the Saints have added a few notable veterans from other teams (including wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, safety Malcolm Jenkins, and fullback Michael Burton), they devoted most of their resources to keeping their own players after the open market wasn’t as welcoming as expected. That was an opportunity Loomis admitted he didn’t see coming.

“I would say going into this, I don’t know that I expected to be able to get David and Andrus re-signed. So I’m really happy that that happened,” Loomis said, referring to defensive tackle David Onyemata and two-time Pro Bowl left guard Andrus Peat. Onyemata inked a three-year contract extension with the Saints, while Peat’s five-year deal is structured so that the Saints can terminate it after three seasons with little financial penalty.

And while discussing Peat’s contract, Loomis took time to focus on what Peat has done for the team in the past while also laying out expectations moving forward: “One of his great attributes is his versatility. He’s been able to kick out to tackle, we’ve had to use him in that area. He’s been in the Pro Bowl a few times at guard. We’re excited to have him back, excited that it was a deal that we could manage under our cap. And he’s still a young player. There’s still room for improvement and growth on his part.”

Loomis wasn’t the only one to be surprised that both starters returned. We predicted that neither of them would re-sign with the Saints before free agency, expecting active interest from other teams to raise their asking price beyond what New Orleans could fit into the budget. That goes to show even the Saints might be surprised by what Loomis and his team, led by salary cap guru Khai Hartley, can accomplish.

[vertical-gallery id=30933]

Andrus Peat contract structure might give Saints an early way out

The New Orleans Saints signed Pro Bowl left guard Andrus Peat to a five-year contract extension, but the deal’s structure may cut it short.

[jwplayer aBSfyrKD-ThvAeFxT]

The New Orleans Saints lit up the fan base early in free agency with a controversial five-year, $57.5 million contract extension with left guard Andrus Peat. While Peat has twice made the Pro Bowl as an alternate, high-variance performance and a still-growing injury history gave many fans cause about committing so many resources to someone who was viewed as replaceable.

For the detractors: there’s reason to think the Saints may share some of their concerns, based off the structure in Peat’s contract. Of that $57.5 million total, just $33.85 million of it is guaranteed, including a $13 million signing bonus prorated over the length of the deal. But what’s interesting is a trigger written into it in 2021.

Peat’s base salary for 2022 ($10.85 million) will become fully guaranteed on the third day of the 2021 league year, giving the Saints a three-day window in which to make a decision. If Peat has not played up to expectations in 2020, they will have an opportunity to get out of his contract through a possible trade (freeing up just $1.2 million in cap space) or post-June 1 cut (saving nothing in 2021, but creating plenty of spending room down the road by prorating).

However, it’s more likely that the Saints will ride out the first three years of Peat’s contract. The savings don’t really make getting rid of him worth it until 2022 at the soonest, especially when those savings are counted against the dead money his contract would leave behind (meaning checks the Saints must write to a player not on their roster). This graph illustrates why it may take some time for the savings of life without Peat may be worth the trouble:

In other words: the view won’t be worth the climb until 2022 at the earliest, and likely not until 2023 (when cutting him would free up $9.225 million against the cap while leaving just $5.2 million behind in dead money). So Peat can safely be penciled in as the starting left guard in New Orleans for the next three seasons. That’s not ideal for those who didn’t want to see Peat connected long-term with the Saints, but a three-year contract is better than a five-season deal.

[vertical-gallery id=30751]

Report: Chiefs were interested in Saints free agent Andrus Peat

The New Orleans Saints were in competition with the Kansas City Chiefs to re-sign free agent guard Andrus Peat, a two-time Pro Bowler.

[jwplayer JkruL4rc-ThvAeFxT]

The New Orleans Saints made a maybe-controversial decision on Friday to re-sign left guard Andrus Peat to a five-year contract extension, keeping the two-time Pro Bowl alternate and 2015 first-round draft pick in the city where he’s played his entire NFL career. But retaining the versatile offensive lineman was hardly a sure thing for the Saints.

According to a report from Herbie Teope of The Kansas City Star, the Super Bowl LIV champions were interested in Peat’s services. If they had landed Peat, he would have replaced Stefen Wisniewski, who agreed to a free agent contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Peat is just 26 years old and has a lot of football left ahead of him — he obviously would have appealed to teams looking for upgrades along the offensive line.

Instead, he’ll remain with the Saints. Peat is the best option to both start at left guard and shift over to left tackle should Terron Armstead miss time, but that says more about the underwhelming options on the Saints’ roster and those available in free agency. While Peat might turn in good game film, too often he ends up on the ground, twisted around, or in the trainer’s room. He’ll need to play at a more consistent level to justify his heightened salary, but at least we know now the Saints weren’t just bidding against themselves.

[vertical-gallery id=30597]

Andrus Peat’s big contract extension might be the first misstep of Saints free agency

The New Orleans Saints agreed to a big contract extension with Pro Bowl left guard Andrus Peat, who has missed a lot of time with injuries.

[jwplayer PmjuSsxr-ThvAeFxT]

Here’s a big development for the New Orleans Saints in free agency: two-time Pro Bowl left guard Andrus Peat agreed to terms on a five-year contract extension with the team on Friday, valued at $57.5 million with a whopping $33 million tied up in guarantees. It’s a big pay day for the former first-round draft pick, the only member of the Saints’ 2015 draft class still with the team.

However, it may have not been the right move. While Peat’s on-field level of play has swung wildly from top-tier highlights to best-forgotten low moments, his extensive injury history alone should give fans pause. He’s only played 60 of 70 possible games, missing time with injuries including a broken arm (2019); a sprained ankle, concussion, and broken hand (2018); a broken leg and high ankle sprain (2017); and other ailments including a vague leg injury (2016 and 2015).

Offensive lines often suffer a high level of attrition in the NFL, owing to the physicality of the position sometimes likened to a weekly car crash. But Peat has missed more time than most starters at his pay grade, and when he has suited up, he hasn’t played at a consistent level. It’s concerning that the Saints invested so heavily in a player who is still unproven this late in his career.

On the other hand: they didn’t have any better options. All of the other top free agent guards had already signed with new teams, and barring a blockbuster trade for New England Patriots franchise player Joe Thuney (which would surely require at least a first-round draft pick), Peat was the best shot New Orleans had at shoring up the position.

Maybe the Saints could have let backups Nick Easton, Will Clapp, and Cameron Tom (also a free agent in need of re-signing) battle it out, but it’s more likely they would have had to reach too high on a prospect or trade up for one in next month’s draft.

So, it’s too soon to say that this move was a bad one. There are certainly positives to take away from it, like Peat’s familiarity with the offense and Drew Brees’ comfort level in working with him. But Peat’s sometimes-poor performance and lack of availability definitely make it look worst out of the roster moves the Saints have made this offseason. Here’s hoping Peat proves the doubters wrong.

[vertical-gallery id=30448]

Report: Chiefs were interested in Saints OL Andrus Peat

We have some life out of the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency.

[jwplayer PmjuSsxr-ThvAeFxT]

The Kansas City Chiefs haven’t made any moves to sign outside free agents so far.

Now we have our first reports of an overture from Kansas City toward an outside free agent. The New Orleans Saints just re-signed two-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman Andrus Peat to a five-year contract. According to Herbie Teope of the Kansas City Star, the Chiefs had an interest in signing Peat.

It’s not clear how interested the Chiefs were or if Kansas City made an offer to Peat in free agency. They very well could have been competing with the Saints to sign him and were simply outbid for his services. Peat’s five-year contract is worth $57.5 million, which seems a bit out of the Chiefs’ price range.

This gives us an idea of the type of player the Chiefs are working to sign in free agency. Peat would have been a solid addition, shoring up an interior offensive line group that just lost veteran Stefen Wisniewski to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Does this mean the Chiefs will continue to look at free-agent offensive linemen? The market out there isn’t looking too promising with players like Ron Leary and Mike Person at the top of the interior offensive line list. Peat is a player with the ability to play guard and kick out to tackle if necessary. Perhaps re-signing Cameron Erving on a cheaper deal becomes an option for Kansas City after missing out on a player like Peat.

[vertical-gallery id=61948]

Saints re-sign Andrus Peat to five-year contract extension

The New Orleans Saints re-signed two-time Pro Bowl left guard Andrus Peat on a five-year contract extension worth $57.5 million.

The New Orleans Saints and left guard Andrus Peat agreed to a five-year contract extension on Friday, reports NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport added that the contract is worth $57.5 million and guarantees $33 million. The official Saints website confirmed the news.

That’s not a bad payout for a two-time Pro Bowler. An average of $11.5 million per year is near the market value for a starting guard of his age and experience, even though Peat has often been the weak link in the Saints offensive line in recent years. Some of that is due to a long list of injuries he’s accumulated, including a broken arm in the 2019 season.

With so few options left on the open market, Peat was very likely the highest-graded available free agent. He has had some good moments despite the negative plays and could quickly change his career’s narrative with a streak of good health. But his poor level of play and lengthy injury history are enough to create some reasonable pause.

At least for now, the Saints are projected to go into the 2020 season with the same starting five offensive linemen. Peat figures to start at left guard between Terron Armstead at left tackle and Erik McCoy at center, with right guard Larry Warford and right tackle Ryan Ramczyk anchoring the other side.

[vertical-gallery id=30509]