The New Orleans Saints dropped their first game of the 2024 season last week in a 15-12 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. While you can’t fault the defense for the loss, only giving up 15 points to a strong Eagles team, you can place the blame on an offense that struggled to get going all game. It was an uncharacteristic game for a Saints offense that had been on a record pace in the team’s first two games.
New offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak had the Saints offense firing on all cylinders through two weeks, scoring 40+ points in back-to-back games, and had seemingly revitalized the careers of both quarterback Derek Carr and running back Alvin Kamara. What went wrong in Week 3 against the Eagles? One issue could be the Saints’ offensive line injuries finally catching up to them.
The Saints came into the season with questions along the offensive line. Offensive tackle Ryan Ramcyzk was injured prior to the start of the season. That injury forced the Saints to shuffle their offensive line, moving offensive tackle Trevor Penning to a position he’d never played before. It also forced New Orleans’ hand in starting rookie Taliese Fuaga, perhaps sooner than they would have liked to.
The injury issues went from bad to worse earlier this week, as it was revealed that center Erik McCoy had suffered a groin injury that required surgery, and he would subsequently be placed on injured reserve. All the injuries have some wondering if the Saints should be looking at the NFL’s free agent market or trade block to help shore up their line.
Bleacher Report NFL analyst Kristopher Knox believes the Saints are a “logical landing spot” for one of the top offensive linemen still available on free agency, former Pittsburgh Steelers center Mason Cole. Cole hasn’t been outstanding in his career, but he had developed into a solid starter for the Steelers before he was released prior to the season. The Saints might not be able to find a better solution on short notice.
