Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Between new roster additions and second-year leaps from highly-drafted rookies, there are some Saints players who could lose their starting jobs in 2023:
The New Orleans Saints starting lineup is going to look different in 2023, and some players returning from the 2022 squad are going to be pushed down the depth chart. That’s not a bad thing for a 7-10 team, even if it means a reduced role for some fan-favorites on offense and defense.
Here’s a quick look at four areas that could see the most change over the summer (and no, we aren’t taking the low-hanging fruit by acknowledging Derek Carr is the unquestioned starter ahead of Jameis Winston):
With a logjam developing at corner, it could make sense for the Saints to explore trading Bradley Roby or Paulson Adebo before Week 1. Teams may call on other players, too:
The NFL offseason is relentless. Free agency’s biggest moves are behind us. So is the 2023 NFL draft. A new wave of veteran signings and tryouts at minicamps is spreading around the league, and it’s a safe bet that more changes are in store for the New Orleans Saints. Normally buyers, could they instead be sellers as the trade market begins to develop? Which players could be on the move for greener pastures before Week 1 in September?
It’s not as easy as saying the Saints should trade (insert underperforming player of the moment here); fans may be unhappy with someone like, say, Tre’Quan Smith or Payton Turner, but there needs to be a reason for another team to have interest in acquiring the player. If a guy is a regular source of negative plays in New Orleans, why would a competitor want to trade for him?
Something else to consider is that the trade value for veteran players (especially those without a lot of strong game tape) tends to be weak. Take that with the minimal salary cap savings involved and the Saints are probably better off holding onto any trade candidates other teams are sniffing around.
With that in mind, here are four names we’ll be watching closely over the summer as position battles take shape:
Saints left tackle James Hurst talked his toughest opponents in the NFL and that time he almost caught a TD pass from Drew Brees:
The Clapback Podcast spoke with New Orleans Saints left tackle James Hurst recently, recapping the former North Carolina Tar Heels standout’s college career, draft experience, and his NFL career so far. Hurst has been through a lot, and he shared a lot of insight to what he’s been through as a player whose college career ended with an injury that caused him to enter the league as an undrafted free agent.
It’s a candid, thorough interview so be sure to give it a listen. When asked about his most difficult opponent, Hurst pointed to Melvin Ingram, who gave him some trouble in the past. But this year’s cold-weather game with the Cleveland Browns gave him a new challenge against big-time defensive end Myles Garrett.
“It was negative-26 degrees wind chill on Christmas Eve in Cleveland. Easily the coldest I’ve ever been,” Hurst began. “Honestly it felt like a health concern that we were still out there playing the game, but you know the NFL’s going to get the game in. Your hands have no chance. In a normal game you’re punching and grabbing people, I don’t think I grabbed someone the whole game. It doesn’t matter how many layers, you can’t get enough blood flow. That was miserable.”
But that gave him a bit of an advantage against Garrett. The conditions helped him limit Garrett to just 3 tackles and 2 quarterback pressures for one of his least-productive games last season. Hurst continued: “Really glad to block Myles Garrett in a snow storm with an icy field, and not a normal situation. This season he was doing the scariest things to people: he was winning with every move, power, speed, hands. Every way you can beat somebody, he was doing it. Really grateful to have the weather on my side.”
That’s not the best story Hurst has from his time with the Saints, though. He once nearly caught a touchdown pass from Drew Brees. Or he was supposed to, if not for the legendary quarterbacks’ untimely injury.
Hurst’s first year with the team saw him playing as the sixth man, and he did well enough catching passes in practice that the Saints drew up a play for him when they got into scoring position. He recalled fine-tuning it under tight ends coach Dan Campbell (“One of my favorite coaches, an awesome guy,” he says of the future Detroit Lions head coach) with Brees and Sean Payton watching him carefully: “Played a lot of jumbo tight end, which was a blast honestly. I can catch a ball. So we put in a play, Drew was the quarterback, it was like a red zone play, really a goal-line play. If we get to the two-yard line, it’s the first play getting called.”
Things went well in practice. He caught the pass from Brees even with taped-up fingers and lineman gloves on, and it was part of the plan for their Week 10 game against the San Francisco 49ers in 2020.
“We’re freaking running the play,” Hurst reminisced. “Leading up to the game, we get down to the 2-yard line, play’s getting called. So first trip down, we’re on the 4-yard line, scored a touchdown from the 4. Next drive, Drew gets sacked, breaks his ribs. Play is out. Devastated. Devastating moment.”
Jameis Winston finished the game in the second half, and the Saints won it 27-13. Brees spent the next four weeks recovering on injured reserve, and the Saints weren’t in a position to try Hurst’s trick play once he returned to the lineup. It’s a shame.
“I could’ve caught a touchdown from Drew Brees, in his last season. Would’ve been freaking awesome. So that’s my story of almost-glory right there, that’s as good as it gets for a lineman,” he laughed.
So what’s next for Hurst? He’s pursued his MBA online and hopes to become a small-business owner after hanging up his cleats someday, having discovered a passion for coffee. He says he has ambitions of opening his own coffeeshop eventually. In the meantime, he’s gearing up for another year with the Saints, being a good teammate and a veteran presence in the locker room. His modest salary cap hit ($3.761 million) is very affordable for a starting lineman, and Trevor Penning’s injury history means he has a good shot at competing for the job at left tackle. If Penning is able to force him aside, great; Hurst has played quality snaps at guard in the past, and he relished the opportunity to line up as a jumbo tight end. He should have a role on this team one way or another.
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Right tackle Ryan Ramczyk (hip) has been ruled out with injury vs. Eagles, leaving the Saints with just two starting offensive linemen available:
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This is tough. The New Orleans Saints initially said starting right tackle Ryan Ramczyk was questionable to return during Sunday’s game with the Philadelphia Eagles after suffering a hip injury early in the first quarter, but they later downgraded his status with news that he would not reenter.
That’s a big loss. Ramczyk has been their steadiest lineman this season, and the Saints were already missing two starters up front — right guard Cesar Ruiz and left guard Andrus Peat were both preemptively ruled out with injuries, putting backups Calvin Throckmorton and Josh Andrews into the lineup. Second-year pro Landon Young stepped in for Ramczyk at right tackle. Erik McCoy remains in place at center with James Hurst at left tackle.
It’s odd to have not seen more of Trevor Penning in this game. The Saints were getting pushed around in the trenches with Andy Dalton taking six sacks midway through the fourth quarter, and the rookie first-round pick has progressed really well in recent weeks. He maybe shouldn’t be starting over Hurst outright, but in light of these injuries having Penning at that spot with Hurst at left guard (where he’s started extensively in the NFL) might have been a better move. Hopefully the Saints can hold onto their lead in spite of the protection issues.
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The Saints activated a crowd of key players for Sunday’s game with the 49ers, ranging from Cameron Jordan and Marcus Davenport to Trevor Penning and Bradley Roby:
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Injuries have been a problem for the New Orleans Saints this year, so it’s encouraging to see so many important players back in the lineup. The Saints activated a crowd for Sunday’s game with the San Francisco 49ers, including multiple starters along the offensive and defensive lines with reinforcements arriving in the secondary. Here is who will be dressing out after having missed some time:
Report: Saints expect to activate rookie left tackle Trevor Penning from injured reserve
Trevor Penning is expected to be activated from injured reserve this week, per sources
— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) November 25, 2022
Here we go: NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill reports that the New Orleans Saints plan to activate Trevor Penning from injured reserve ahead of Week 12’s game with the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. The left tackle was picked in the first round of this year’s NFL draft, but a preseason turf toe injury required surgery that sidelined him for most of his rookie year.
So will he get in the lineup on Sunday? Probably, but don’t look for him to start right away. James Hurst is returning from a one-week absence in concussion protocol and he’s been capable — or at least more capable than Penning looked in preseason, where he struggled in making the jump from Northern Iowa to the NFL, through no fault of his own. We’ll see if the Saints make a change with both players available, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
What’s important is that Penning is healthy and ready to play. He needs all the reps he can get to make that transition to the pro level. The more experience he’s getting in live games, even if it’s coming off the bench as an extra blocker, the better. He was just so raw even before his injury. The vision all along has been for him to spend a year adjusting to the NFL so he can truly compete for the starting job in 2023. For now, let’s just be happy with what he can do to help on Sunday.
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The Saints’ offensive line health is looking bleak with Aaron Donald up next. They could be without three of their five starters in Week 11:
Things are going from bad to worse for the New Orleans Saints offensive line. They went into their Week 10 game with the Pittsburgh Steelers missing two key starters — center Erik McCoy and left guard Andrus Peat. And then they lost left tackle James Hurst to a concussion in the second half, putting his status in jeopardy for Week 11’s matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.
It means the Saints could hit the field on Sunday without three of their starting five offensive linemen against the Los Angeles Rams defense, anchored by a future Hall of Famer in Aaron Donald. The big-time defensive tackle is a game-wrecker. New Orleans has blocked him well in the past, limiting him to 2 sacks and 8 quarterback hits with 6 tackles for loss in their 4 previous meetings, but that was with significantly better health across the board.
When asked whether he could see one of those three injured starters returning for Week 11’s game, Saints head coach Dennis Allen told Nola.com’s Rod Walker on Monday that, “I don’t know if that’s a possibility right now.”
So that means we should expect Landon Young to start at left tackle, with either Lewis Kidd or Calvin Throckmorton getting the nod at left guard and Josh Andrews filling in again at center. Kidd and Throckmorton rotated in and out of the lineup last week so that could be the move again. It’s possible that rookie left tackle Trevor Penning is activated from injured reserve in time for this game, but he only returned to practice on a limited basis last week and it’s unlikely he’ll be ready to play a full game so soon.
It makes for a dicey situation for whoever starts at quarterback this week, whether Andy Dalton remains the starter or if the Saints pivot to Jameis Winston instead. New Orleans built its offense on the strength of its offensive line through years of careful drafting, developing, and investing through hefty contracts, but the depth they cultivated is about to experience a serious trial by fire. Let’s see if they’re up to the challenge.
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The Saints ruled out left tackle James Hurst (concussion) against the Steelers, meaning three of their five starting offensive linemen are unavailable:
This is bad. The New Orleans Saints ruled out left tackle James Hurst at halftime in their Week 10 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, meaning three of their five starting offensive linemen are unavailable: Hurst entered the NFL concussion protocol, with left guard Andrus Peat (shoulder) and center Erik McCoy (calf) each already inactive with injuries.
That meant Hurst was replaced by second-year backup Landon Young, with guards Lewis Kidd (an undrafted rookie out of Montana State) and Calvin Throckmorton rotating in and out of the lineup at Peat’s spot. Veteran journeyman Josh Andrews was signed from the Saints practice squad to replace McCoy. Only right guard Cesar Ruiz and right tackle Ryan Ramczyk remained from the nominal starting-five.
Rookie left tackle Trevor Penning traveled for the game but he hasn’t yet been activated from injured reserve after undergoing toe surgery, so he’s not eligible to play on Sunday.
It makes for a tough situation against a Steelers defensive line firing on all cylinders. T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward are well-known names, but Alex Highsmith has been having a strong season rushing off the edge. With the Saints run game struggling to get going and Dalton taking sacks and fumbling snaps, even more pressure is put on the Saints defense to compensate. We’ll see if they can overcome all of this adversity.
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How do the Saints plan to navigate their issues at left tackle? Between injuries and roster cuts, James Hurst is the last man standing:
This is far from ideal. One factor in the New Orleans Saints’ decision to let Terron Armstead walk away in free agency was the instability they had experienced at left tackle throughout his career — talented as he was, Armstead’s lengthy injury history was a problem, and they believed moving on would help settle things at that spot (especially given the lofty contract Armstead won with the Miami Dolphins).
But things didn’t go as planned in the preseason. Of the four players to line up at left tackle during their three exhibition games, only Armstead’s former backup James Hurst remains somewhat healthy, and it’s unclear if he’ll be fully recovered from a toe injury in time for the season opener in Atlanta; Hurst hasn’t practiced since leaving a joint session with the Green Bay Packers early back on Aug. 17.
Two of the other three Saints left tackles are down with injuries. Undrafted rookie backup Sage Doxtater was injured in that same practice and initially landed on injured reserve, only to agree to a settlement that made him a free agent. And the heir-apparent, first round draft pick Trevor Penning, was knocked out of the preseason finale with a turf toe injury that may cost him his rookie year. The third member of the group, journeyman reserve Derrick Kelly II, was waived during final roster cuts in a move that looks kind of bizarre in context of all these other losses.
Let’s put it a different way. Hurst, who hasn’t practiced in nearly two weeks, is the only somewhat-available Saints player to line up at left tackle (10 snaps) in the preseason. Penning (113 snaps) may be lost for the season — the team just won’t know until they see how his body is responding to surgery. Doxtater (6 snaps) and Kelly (76) have both already been released. So what’s the plan?
Maybe the Saints are moving Landon Young back to left tackle after training him all summer to back up Ryan Ramczyk on the right side. Young started last year’s game with the Philadelphia Eagles in Armstead’s place and saw more than 2,500 snaps at left tackle in college at Kentucky. But he’s been out of action since Aug. 16 with his own injury, promoting undrafted rookie Lewis Kidd (a former left tackle at Montana State) into the role of Ramczyk’s understudy. Reversing course for Young two weeks before the season starts is hardly ideal, but what’re you gonna do? At least Saints head coach Dennis Allen was optimistic when recently discussing Hurst’s status.
What about Ramczyk? Another former left tackle himself (noticing a trend here?) at Wisconsin, he had significant incentives written into his contract should he earn All-Pro recognition at the left spot rather than his customary right tackle role. So it’s an option, but maybe one that should only be used out of desperation if Hurst isn’t ready to go. One of the enduring problems with Armstead’s absences was that the Saints often had to move multiple starters around to accommodate the hole in their lineup. Moving Ramczyk out of the spot he’s played his best football in the NFL just creates a vulnerability in another area. If they can find a way to plug the hole at left tackle and keep Ramczyk as an anchor at right tackle, that’s the path they should take.
So reinforcing the depth behind Hurst may be the best path forward. If the Saints feel they can trust Kidd to back up Ramczyk, flipping Young back to his natural position makes sense. If they don’t like that notion, adding another body at left tackle is a smart strategy. It’s unclear whether a veteran free agent like Jason Peters or Eric Fisher would be interested in signing to play backup, but it’s worth exploring anyway. The team could also consider trading a late-round pick for a highly-drafted prospect on the outs with their current team like Alex Leatherwood or Isaiah Wynn, or wait and try their luck with the waiver wire. Either way, they have a starter in Hurst. The objective is adding a player they can either rely on to fill in for him and/or develop in Penning’s place.
It’s a difficult knot to untangle. The best left tackles aren’t going to be moved from their teams any time soon, and any options that would move the needle for Saints fans would be too expensive. Again, the goal is to support Hurst as the starter, not to replace him. That was the vision the team had in drafting Penning in the first place, and it remains the best course forward. Let’s see what develops on this front in the days ahead.
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Dennis Allen addressed injuries to Saints left tackles Trevor Penning and James Hurst after the preseason finale:
Disaster struck the New Orleans Saints in their preseason finale against the Los Angeles Chargers when rookie left tackle Trevor Penning left the game on a medical trainer’s cart. The situation was already dicey with James Hurst, the projected starter at the position, sidelined with his own injury. But Saints head coach Dennis Allen addressed both situations after the game.
“I feel like James Hurst is going to be back sooner than later,” Allen told reporters Friday evening, adding that Penning has been diagnosed with a toe injury but will undergo further evaluations. Veteran backup Derrick Kelly filled in for Penning after he exited the Chargers game, with Hurst already inactive.
That’s about as good of news as we could hope for. The team has two weeks to heal up before the regular season begins in Atlanta, and Hurst’s steady progress (after initially wearing a medical boot early this week, he was recently spotted without it and doing conditioning work on a stationary bike during practice) suggests he’ll be ready to roll. That’s backed up by Allen’s words, though we’ll obviously have to wait and see what’s filed on the injury report before kickoff.
The bigger issue, for Penning, is that the rookie needs to stay healthy so he can get more practice reps in and work on his techniques. He’s made a difficult transition from Northern Iowa to the NFL, and while he has improved on a week-to-week basis he’s still a ways off from being ready to start in real games. Any time he misses in the trainer’s room is going to slow his development. But it’s better to miss weeks rather than months.
Update: Multiple reports now say that Penning is believed to have suffered a turf toe injury. Further tests will give him and the team an idea of his recovery timeline.
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