Pass protection changes for #Saints QB Derek Carr: With starting tackles James Hurst & Ryan Ramczyk both ruled out tonight, I’m told Andrus Peat will replace Hurst at LT and Cam Erving will be elevated from practice squad to play RT. Former No. 1 pick Trevor Penning not starting.
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) October 19, 2023
Yikes. The projected New Orleans Saints offensive line for Week 7’s game with the Jacksonville Jaguars looks like a recipe for disaster. With starting offensive tackles Ryan Ramczyk and James Hurst ruled out with injuries (as well as their top backup Landon Young), ESPN’s Ed Werder reports that the Saints are planning to start Andrus Peat at left tackle while bringing up Cam Erving from the practice squad to play on the right side.
It’s a baffling decision. Erving has not played right tackle since 2016, his second year in the NFL; the Saints traded up for Nick Saldiveri in this year’s draft, and on paper he looks like a much better candidate for this job. He logged more than 2,200 snaps at right tackle in college at Old Dominion during his 38-game career. The Saints coaching staff has tried to convert him to left guard instead of playing him at his natural position.
And Peat hasn’t lined up at left tackle since 2019, when he played a grand total of 6 snaps. He hasn’t spent extensive time at that position since the 2017 season. There’s little reason to believe he’ll be an upgrade over Trevor Penning at the left tackle spot given his past struggles and limited success after moving to guard, but the Saints are determined to keep Penning on the bench.
Here’s the projected starting lineup and their backups for Thursday night’s game with Jacksonville:
- Left tackle: Andrus Peat (Trevor Penning)
- Left guard: Max Garcia (Nick Saldiveri)
- Center: Erik McCoy (Garcia)
- Right guard: Cesar Ruiz (Garcia/Saldiveri)
- Right tackle: Cam Erving (Ruiz)
The Saints could also bring up Tommy Kraemer (who has some right tackle experience) or Mark Evans II (a college left tackle the team moved to guard) from the practice squad to add further depth, but we don’t know whether they’ll be available Thursday night. The Saints are making some bold decisions here. We’ll see how that works out against a talented Jaguars defensive front.
