There are 71 days to go until the New Orleans Saints open their 2024 season with the Carolina Panthers, which means the current owner of the No. 71 jersey is our Saints Player of the Day. But have we already seen the last of Ryan Ramczyk?
Let’s look back at Ramczyk’s career thus far, his current situation, and what could be ahead for him:
- Name (Age): Ryan Ramczyk (30)
- Position: Offensive tackle
- Height, weight: 6-foot-6, 314 pounds
- Relative Athletic Score: N/A
- 2024 salary cap hit: $12,293,321
- College: Wisconsin
- Drafted: 1st round in 2017 (New Orleans Saints)
- NFL experience: 8 years
Ramczyk was everything the Saints hoped he would be when they drafted him. He’s repeatedly won Pro Bowl and All-Pro attention through his career while playing at a high level, and for most of his time with the Saints he rarely missed a snap. It’s just a shame that his degenerative knee condition is likely cutting his career short. The Saints are giving him time to rehab away from the team, but it doesn’t sound like he’s expected to play again this season, if ever again.
If this is the end of the road, Ramczyk will have an opportunity to retire with the Saints, but don’t expect that to be processed until 2025. The Saints would likely put Ramczyk on injured reserve this season before circling back next offseason to give him as much time as possible to make a decision. If he does retire they would process his retirement just like they handled those for Drew Brees and Malcolm Jenkins. His future base salaries in 2025 and 2026 would be reduced to the minimum with whatever’s over from his signing bonus and past restructures being split between the current and next-year salary caps as dead money.
Hopefully it doesn’t come to that. It’s possible Ramczyk could find a solution for managing his bad knee and return to keep playing in black and gold. But that’s not something the Saints can count on. They’re already preparing for the future by drafting Taliese Fuaga and converting Trevor Penning to right tackle. Let’s hope better days are ahead for Ramczyk, but it’s important to acknowledge he may have already played his last down of pro football.
