The right knee of New Orleans Saints right tackle Ryan Ramczyk has not responded as well as hoped following offseason surgery, coach Dennis Allen said Tuesday.
Ramczyk, 29, could miss the 2024 season in his recovery from cartilage damage, NFL Network reported Tuesday, but Allen was being a bit more conservative in his assessment in taking a wait-and-see approach in the offseason and into training camp.
"He just isn't quite where I was probably hoping he'd be, and really quite frankly, where he was hoping he'd be," Allen told reporters at the NFL's annual league meeting in Orlando, Fla. "But ... there's a long time before we kick the ball off, so I wouldn't jump to any conclusions right now, but we'll see how it goes over the next three, four, five, six months, whatever that is, before we get to the beginning of the season."
Allen said he felt better about Ramczyk's medical situation at the time of the procedure than he did Tuesday. For his part, Ramczyk said in December that he was uncertain about his future and would consult with medical professionals and make the best decision.
He described the damage to the knee then as a "nagging problem," saying there wasn't much cartilage remaining.
"This year it's bugged me a little bit more than it has in the past," he said at the time. "At some point, I just couldn't play anymore."
Ramczyk played in 12 games (all starts) in 2023. He played in at least 15 regular-season games in five of his first six seasons, all with the Saints, who selected him in the first round (32nd overall) in the 2017 NFL Draft out of Wisconsin.
He was first-team All-Pro in 2019 and second team in 2018 and 2020.
Ramczyk signed a five-year, $96 million contract extension in June 2021 but had no guaranteed money remaining on it. He and the team renegotiated a deal that gives him $6.5 million in guaranteed money this season between base salary and bonuses. providing the team salary cap relief.
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