Saints left guard Andrus Peat has dealt with a litany of injuries in his career, and he has averaged just ten games per season over the last four years. The 29-year-old has already suffered a quadriceps injury in this year’s training camp that has caused him to miss time, and Rod Walker of NOLA.com believes Peat may no longer be in line for a starting role.
James Hurst, who is capable of playing both guard and tackle, received first-team reps at left guard in Peat’s absence, and Walker says it would not surprise if Hurst gets the nod at LG when the regular season begins. Hurst operated as New Orleans’ primary left tackle in 2022, but with Trevor Penning set to take over that post after an injury-riddled rookie campaign, Hurst will move to a reserve role or to a different position on the O-line.
Peat, whom the Saints selected in the first round of the 2015 draft, also saw action at multiple positions in the early stages of his career, including run as the club’s starting LT in 2016 and 2017. Since 2018, he has settled in at left guard, and while Pro Football Focus’ metrics have never rated him as an above-average player at that position, he earned three consecutive Pro Bowl nods from 2018-20.
In March 2020, he inked a five-year, $57.5M contract with the Saints, and thanks to multiple restructures, his spot on this year’s roster is secure. But the most recent restructure wiped out the final year of the deal and turned it into a void year, so he will be eligible for free agency at season’s end. If he were to turn in a healthy, quality performance in 2023, he could land another lucrative pact next offseason, but his pursuit of such an accord has not gotten off to a great start.
Hurst, meanwhile, signed a one-year deal with the Saints in 2020 and showed enough during his first year in the Big Easy to land a three-year, $9M contract in March 2021. He worked at both tackle spots and at left guard in 2021 before his extended look on the blind side last year. In each of the last two seasons, he has earned strong pass-blocking grades of 76.9 and 76.6 from Pro Football Focus, though his less stellar run-blocking grades have pulled down his overall marks.
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