The 2023 NFL offseason is in full swing, and with that, training camps edge ever closer to starting. We have seen a new wave of players enter the team both via the draft and free agency, but there is also a large group of returning players from last season as well. This has led to some debates to be had regarding which players will have the largest impact on the roster for the 2023 season.
Each day we will be counting down the 25 most important Saints for the 2023 season. This will be split up into the following categories:
- Recap of their 2022 season
- Projecting their 2023 success
- What is the biggest question mark for them in 2023?
The 19th-ranked player by the Saints Wire staff is left guard Andrus Peat:
Background
The nine-year veteran Peat was originally selected in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft out of Stanford, marking the first time the team had selected in offensive lineman in the first round in a whole decade at that point.
One of the biggest elements of his game that Peat brings to the table is his versatility, playing at every position on the O-line except for center over the course of his career as he prepares to go into the ninth season of his professional career.
He has seen action in a total of 84 regular season contests, starting 79 of those. Back in 2021, he started six games at left guard, but was forced to miss the back half of the season with a pectoral injury,
2022 Recap
Peat continued to be effective at the line for the Saints in 2022, starting a total of 11 games. Among his best games — and one of the best games for the unit as a whole for that matter — came in the 17-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns on the road.
The efforts of the likes of Peat, Erik McCoy and Caesar Ruiz helped the Saints’ run game to power the way to 152 rushing yards and two ground scores on 39 carries.
2023 Outlook
Peat has held firm as a starter over his long tenure with the team and heads into this one with a hold on the left guard position. It should be noted, though, that the Saints did cut his pay in a reworked deal this offseason back in mid-March to free up some cap space (roughly $9.5 million in this case), converting the remainder of Peat’s contract to a signing bonus.
His contract is also set to void at the conclusion of the season after he had signed a five-year agreement with the Saints, which could have him headed to free agency sooner rather than later.
Which leads us to…
Biggest question: How quickly could Nick Saldiveri potentially replace Peat?
Peat has held onto his current position nearly into double-digit years, but there’s a lot of intrigue surrounding Saldiveri and what he could accomplish quickly in the Big Easy.
The team made it clear that getting Saldiveri was important to them when they moved up to the No. 103 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft, trading with the Chicago Bears to ensure they got their guy.
The Old Dominion product was paid more than his scheduled salary and depending on both the performance of himself and Peat and the $8.8 million cap hit the Saints carry with Peat, how, when and if the Saints make changes here is going to being something to keep an eye on.
