The New Orleans Saints have struggled mightily with their offensive line play this season, and some of that burden falls onto second-year left tackle Trevor Penning. While the offensive line has improved the last two weeks, that has come primarily in the form of scheme changes to help out Penning, such as lining a tight end to his outside to help take some pressure off of him.
Regardless, Penning’s struggles have been obvious to any who have watched the Saints this year. Through five games, he has given up 14 pressures, 3 sacks, and has drawn 4 penalties. That ends up being roughly one pressure per every 24 snaps.
This week, the Saints are looking to change up the offensive line, putting Andrus Peat back at left guard and James Hurst at left tackle. This will move Penning out of the starting rotation, and could end up causing issues with his development long term.
The Times-Picayune’s Jeff Duncan reported Sunday morning that Dennis Allen had a meeting with Penning earlier in the week, discussing why this move is taking place.
I’m told Dennis Allen met with Trevor Penning earlier this week to inform him about the move. The team still believes in the 2022 first-round pick but believes this move is in the best interests of the offense going forward.
— Jeff Duncan (@JeffDuncan_) October 15, 2023
It is a good sign overall that Allen was able to talk to Penning about this move, and discuss why it may be in the best interest of the team this season. However, moving Penning out of the starting lineup is relatively controversial, as it could end up hurting him in the long run to not get snaps for some of his first full season. We will see how it pans out, but for now, Penning will seemingly not be in the starting lineup.
