Many fans spent their summer imploring the New Orleans Saints to reinforce the depth chart along the offensive line, and they got their wish on Tuesday: The team announced that veteran guards Trai Turner and Max Garcia would be joining them for training camp.
Turner is a five-time Pro Bowler, while Garcia has logged thousands of snaps in the NFL with the Denver Broncos and Arizona Cardinals. They’ll be pushing backups Nick Saldiveri, Calvin Throckmorton, Lewis Kidd and Mark Evans II for snaps in the rotation behind starting guards Andrus Peat and Cesar Ruiz. That’s a lot of players competing for what may be just two or three spots on the 53-man roster in September, and these heightened stakes are exactly what head coach Dennis Allen sought.
“Again, I mean I sound like a broken record, we’re looking for anything we can add to our football team and make us better,” Allen said with a grin while fielding questions during his pre-training camp press conference, acknowledging that increased competition has been a priority. “We feel like having a lot of competition within the team kind of brings out the best in everybody. Depth, competition, those are all things that we’re looking for.”
When asked whether the recent injury issues for Peat and Ruiz played a part in the search for better interior line depth, Allen responded, “This is not a health-related signing. This is a signing where we felt like there is a veteran player that we can bring in, put into the mix, and then let’s see how the competition plays out.”
Injuries limited Peat to just 11 games last year, and he’s never played a full season in the NFL. After not missing a snap in 2021, Ruiz missed the final three weeks in 2022 after suffering a foot injury that required surgery. Both guards are expected to fully participate in training camp practices, but it doesn’t hurt to have more depth with real pro experience backing them up in case they get banged up again.
