Tag: Erik McCoy

Saints starting third center in three weeks vs. Chiefs

In the last three weeks, the Saints have started Erik McCoy, Shane Lemieux and now Lucas Patrick at center:

Lucas Patrick was the New Orleans Saints’ starting center in Week 5 against t he Kansas City Chiefs. Through the first month of the season, Patrick has started every game at left guard.

This is Patrick’s first time starting at center but not his first time lining up at the position for the Saints. He filled in for Erik McCoy after McCoy injured his groin against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Saints opted to move him back to left guard the next week against the Atlanta Falcons. Shane Lemieux was signed to the active roster from the practice squad to start at center. Unfortunately, Lemieux suffered an injury that landed him next to McCoy on injured reserve.

Because of this injury, the Saints have turned back to Patrick. Nick Saldiveri will replace Patrick at left guard. Saldiveri is making the first start of his career. Landon Young is filling in for Cesar Ruiz for the second week in a row.

The Saints offensive line has been a mixture of shuffling parts on the interior due to injuries. Taliese Fuaga and Trevor Penning have started every game this season, on the bright side.

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Saints could start their third center in as many weeks vs. Chiefs

Injuries to Erik McCoy, Lucas Patrick, and Shane Lemieux mean the Saints may have to start their third center in as many weeks against the Chiefs:

It wasn’t too long ago that the New Orleans Saints offensive line was winning some confidence from their fans. They had gotten off to a hot start and Pro Bowl center Erik McCoy looked like their best player up front. Then he suffered a groin injury that sent him into surgery, and now he’s looking at a month or more of recovery on injured reserve.

Next man up. That was Lucas Patrick, who filled in for McCoy against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Saints brought up Shane Lemieux from their practice squad for the next game, but he suffered an ankle injury and won’t play on Monday night versus the Kansas City Chiefs. Next man up again, right? That would be Patrick. But he missed the last two days of practice  with a groin injury of his own and is questionable to play at all.

At some point you run out of options and get to the end of the line. That’s why the Saints signed Connor McGovern off the New York Jets practice squad, and he has a real shot at starting in Kansas City. With McCoy and Lemieux out of action and Patrick questionable, McGovern would probably be that next man up.

At least he has experience. McGovern has snapped the ball himself 4,925 times and mostly played in similar offenses to Klint Kubiak’s system. He could be a capable replacement at the pivot even if he was only in New Orleans a few days before flying out to Kansas City. Still, it’s concerning that Derek Carr would have to take the snap from another new set of hands. Especially with five-time All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones watching and waiting to charge at him.

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Tyrann Mathieu banged up vs. Falcons, now dealing with groin and heel injuries

Tyrann Mathieu was nicked up against the Falcons. He’s now dealing with a groin injury after a heel issue limited him in previous games.

Tyrann Mathieu exited Sunday’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons with a groin injury, per ESPN’s Katherine Terrell, adding to his list of ailments. The New Orleans Saints safety has already been limited in games with a heel issue, and he also dealt with a calf injury earlier this season.

But this groin injury could be the most serious of the bunch. Starting center Erik McCoy is out six to eight weeks after undergoing core muscle surgery for a similar injury. Hopefully it isn’t as dire aa situation. It’s a good sign that Mathieu observed the rest of the Falcons game from the bench with his teammates rather than moving to the locker room for treatment and further evaluation.

We’ll have to wait and see whether he misses time because of it. Either way, injuries are stacking up for Mathieu. The Saints have built their defense around several older players — Demario Davis, Cameron Jordan, and Mathieu himself — and each of them are either managing an injury or seeing a reduced role due to performance.

So younger teammates need to step up. J.T. Gray was pushed into Sunday’s game after Mathieu left, but he’s better-versed on special teams than defense, and it’s unlikely that’s the long-term goal for replacing Mathieu. Will Harris and Jordan Howden remain on the 53-man roster while Johnathan Abram, Ugo Amadi, and Millard Bradford are available on the practice squad. Whether any of them are called up for a bigger role is something to monitor in the days ahead.

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Saints vs. Falcons could be a battle of battered offensive lines

The Saints and Falcons’ starting centers are both on IR, and each team had another starting lineman miss Wednesday’s practice:

The New Orleans Saints enter the game versus the Atlanta Falcons with big -time health questions on the offensive line. They aren’t alone, either. The Falcons listed just one player on their injury report for Wednesday, but it was right tackle Kaleb McGary.

McGary did not participate at all on Wednesday. Their center Drew Dalman wasn’t listed on the injury report because he’s on injured reserve. Just like New Orleans, Atlanta is in danger of being down two starting offensive linemen in Week 4.

The Saints know Erik McCoy is out for an extended amount of time. Cesar Ruiz and Landon Young also made appearances on the injury report and their future is uncertain. Young was limited with a foot injury, and a knee injury kept Ruiz out of practice altogether.

Ruiz’s importance becomes elevated due to McCoy’s absence. You can’t have two interior offensive linemen miss a game and be confident you’ll still be strong up front.

Pressure through the middle compromises everything this offense wants to do, but the same is true for Atlanta. Both teams know they’ll be without their center and could be without a starter on the right side. This game could easily come down to who gets the best health news, and who can take advantage of their opponent’s missing players.

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Saints promote Shane Lemieux to the 53-man roster, put Erik McCoy on I.R.

The Saints reported a couple of roster moves on Wednesday, with Erik McCoy going on injured reserve and a replacement coming up from the practice squad:

The New Orleans Saints reported a couple of roster moves on Wednesday, with starting center Erik McCoy going on injured reserve and a possible replacement coming up from the practice squad. McCoy is expected to be out six to eight weeks recovering from sports hernia surgery.

Veteran backup Shane Lemieux was promoted to the 53-man roster in McCoy’s place but don’t expect him to start. It’ll probably be Lucas Patrick filling in at center again this week. Look for Lemieux to dress out as an emergency option should something happen to Patrick, too.

These weren’t the only moves the Saints made. With Lemieux creating an opening on the practice squad, they signed journeyman Chris Reed after a round of free agent tryouts earlier this week. Reed has pro experience at both guard spots and tackle.

Still, the Saints’ offensive line is a mess. Right guard Cesar Ruiz is managing a knee issue and if he can’t dress out against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday then all five of last year’s starters will miss this game. Hopefully they can get by with whoever is healthy enough to play.

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Saints could play Falcons without all five of last year’s offensive line starters

There’s been turnover along the Saints’ offensive line. Now Cesar Ruiz has a knee injury, and if he can’t go all five of last year’s starters will be out on Sunday:

This is worth watching. Right guard Cesar Ruiz missed Wednesday’s New Orleans Saints practice with what head coach Dennis Allen said was a knee injury. And as Nola.com’s Rod Walker noted, if Ruiz can’t play on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, the Saints will be without all five of their starters from last year’s offensive line.

Center Erik McCoy is going on injured reserve with a groin injury. Last season’s left tackle, Andrus Peat, is currently playing for the Las Vegas Raiders. The left guard will either be Oli Udoh, Landon  Young, or Nick Saldiveri, none of whom played many snaps there on last year’s team. Ruiz’s replacement at right guard would be anyone’s guess. And right tackle Trevor Penning was benched last season after initially playing left tackle.

Some turnover was needed given how poorly the Saints’ offensive line performed a year ago, but this is excessive. Being down one starter is bad enough; that it’s McCoy, the unit’s best player, getting sidelined for six to eight weeks is even worse. Working without Ruiz as well would only exacerbate their problems.

We’ll watch out for updates carefully throughout the week. Ruiz was able to play through his knee issue last Sunday but that may not be the case for him in their next game. Hopefully he’s able to go and do a better job slowing down the Falcons than we saw last week against the Philadelphia Eagles.

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Erik McCoy scheduled for surgery at Andrews Sports Medicine

ESPN reports Erik McCoy’s sports hernia surgery is scheduled at Andrews Sports Medicine in Birmingham:

New Orleans Saints center Erik McCoy is scheduled for surgery Wednesday at Andrews Sports Medicine in Birmingham, Ala., per ESPN’s Katherine Terrell. She also noted that Dr. Benton Emblom’s team will likely be doing the surgery, though it could be someone else. Dr. Emblom specializes in sports hernia surgery, and as Terrell added in a further notice, this is what McCoy’s injury is classified as.

The timeline of 6 to 8 weeks makes sense in this diagnoses as it matches up with the timeline of a sports hernia, and it is good to know he will be in good hands at that medical facility. Some may recognize the name of the facility as it was co-founded by Louisiana native and LSU graduate Dr. James Andrews, a renowned orthopedic surgeon who has founded many medical centers in his career.

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Saints have a better record at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium than the Falcons

Atlanta spent a lot of money building Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but the Saints have a better record there than the Falcons do on their own home turf:

Atlanta spent a lot of money building Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the Atlanta Falcons to play their home games, but it’s their rivals who have a better record there. Since the venue opened for the 2017 season, the New Orleans Saints have gone 5-2 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium — a stunning win percentage of .714.

Those Saints victories included a 43-37 thriller in overtime in 2018 and a Thanksgiving Day rout in 2019. Last season’s loss was their first since the arena’s inaugural season.

Now compare it to the Falcons’ home record, which is one of the NFL’s worst since 2017: 27-32. That’s a win percentage of just .457. Only eight teams have won fewer home games since Mercedes-Benz Stadium opened its doors.

The next chapter in this long-running rivalry will be written on Sunday, when the Saints and Falcons kick off in Week 4. They’re both looking to keep pace in the NFC South title race but each team is dealing with similar troubles. Offensive line injuries have struck New Orleans (Erik McCoy is having sports hernia surgery, sidelining him for six to eight weeks) as well as Atlanta (the Falcons already put Drew Dalman on injured reserve and Kaleb McGary could be next). Whoever has the next man up playing well just might win the day.

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Saints add offensive line depth, signing Chris Reed to the practice squad

The Saints have signed offensive line depth due to the Erik McCoy injury, bringing in Chris Reed to the practice squad:

The New Orleans Saints have added some offensive line depth to the team due to the injury to Erik McCoy in Week 3, as they have signed offensive lineman Chris Reed to the practice squad, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. This signing comes after Reed came in for a tryout with four other offensive linemen to see if the Saints could add some depth to the roster, or potentially even an eventual starter.

Reed has played in the league for eight seasons across various teams but has had trouble sticking with any in recent years. The Minnesota Vikings are his most recent team in 2022 and 2023, but before that he got regular starting time with the Indianapolis Colts and Carolina Panthers. 2020 and 2021 are his last two seasons with more than one game started, with 14 in 2020 and 6 in 2021. 2020 was a phenomenal year for him statistically, as he put up 892 offensive snaps, giving up only 1 sack, 19 pressures, and had only three penalties.

Primarily his position is guard, with 1,831 snaps at left guard and 388 at right guard in his career, however in 2022 he took up playing center some, and had 124 snaps allowing only 2 pressures with no sacks, and 2 penalties. We will see ultimately which position he ends up at with the Saints, and whether or not he ends up making a start at some point this season.

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Saints’ next three games will be a challenge for the interior offensive line

The Saints will face Grady Jarrett, Chris Jones and Vita Vea over the next three weeks, and they’ll have to do it without Erik McCoy:

The New Orleans Saints will be without Erik McCoy for 6 to 8 weeks. Against the Philadelphia Eagles, the impact of his absence was overly evident.

The triumvirate of Lucas Patrick, Oli Udoh and Cesar Ruiz struggled against the Eagles. The next three games will feature repeated challenges for the group. Grady Jarrett will be on the other side this week for the Atlanta Falcons. New Orleans travels to face the Kansas City Chiefs and Chris Jones in prime time after that. Vita Vea is dealing with an injury but could be available in time for the next game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Former Saints offensive lineman James Hurst explained the trickle-down effect of McCoy’s injury. His role includes leading and directing the rest of the unit, not just blocking the man in front of him. The responsibility comes with a week’s worth of preparation that’s difficult to supplant mid-game.

The Saints will be down their best offensive lineman and leader of the unit just in time for the most challenging stretch of defenders for the interior offensive line. The Saints must look to find McCoy’s replacement quickly.

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