Sunday’s game with the Atlanta Falcons will mark the regular season debut for Kyle Hergel. Offensive line injuries have forced the New Orleans Saints to tap into the depth on their practice squad — starting center Erik McCoy and right guard Cesar Ruiz are both unavailable, so the team chose Hergel as their lone elevation from the practice squad for Week 4.
While he was the primary backup for Ruiz at right guard throughout training camp, the Saints may choose to bring Hergel in off the bench with a veteran like Landon Young starting instead.
He’s taken a unique path to the NFL. Hergel is Canadian, and he made a couple of different stops in college football before turning pro out of Boston College. That experience proved invaluable in preparing him for the next level, and even if he didn’t make the 53-man roster it’s clear the Saints have a role in mind for him. Let’s see if he can seize this opportunity, however it manifests.
