METAIRIE, La. — Andrus Peat might be the New Orleans Saints‘ most high-profile free agent outside of their three quarterbacks this offseason.
But figuring out how the Saints and the rest of the NFL will value the two-time Pro Bowl left guard is one of their biggest mysteries heading into the start of free agency on March 18.
Peat, 26, seems like an obvious place for the Saints to save money this offseason, because they’re slammed against the salary cap (they have about $11 million in space) and because they have so much money and draft capital invested everywhere else on their offensive line. But the Saints could also wind up keeping Peat if he doesn’t generate enough interest on the open market.
The top 10 guards in the NFL make at least $10 million per year, but it remains to be seen if the league will value Peat in that category. The Saints, meanwhile, have less than $10 million in salary-cap space for now (though they have a handful of ways to create more space by releasing players or restructuring current deals).
The 6-foot-7, 316-pounder has waffled between overrated and underappreciated throughout his five-year career. He struggled a bit as a rookie, when the Saints drafted him with the 13th overall pick out of Stanford in 2015 and moved him from left tackle to right tackle to guard.
And he seemed to regress a bit in 2019, showing more inconsistency than usual — which made his second straight Pro Bowl selection as an alternate a bit of a surprise.
But in between, the versatile big man was better than many Saints fans gave him credit for from 2016-18. Peat’s greatest asset has been his ability to slide over and play left tackle when needed — which has been huge for the Saints, since their standout left tackle Terron Armstead missed 21 games due to injuries over that three-year stretch.
A solid pass-protector and run-blocker, Peat was also a big reason why the Saints ranked in the NFL’s top two in both yards per rush and yards per pass attempt in 2017. Running backs Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara became the first duo to each surpass 1,500 yards from scrimmage in the same season that year.
Peat has also dealt with some injuries in recent years, but nothing that should make him feel like more of an injury risk than anyone else going forward. He missed six games with a broken arm last year and played through a broken hand during the 2018 playoffs.
Peat is at the very least a competent, experienced starter with the flexibility to play two positions. And at 26, he still has the potential to be even more than that. So there’s a good chance that a team with more money and more desperation to upgrade the offensive line will snatch him away.
If that happens, the Saints could turn to veteran backup Nick Easton, who proved more than capable while starting six games as an injury replacement for both Peat and right guard Larry Warford in 2019. Easton, 27, is due to make $5 million this season.
Or New Orleans could go even cheaper with some combination of third-year backup Will Clapp, free agency and the draft. And it’s not out of the question that they could consider upgrading the position instead — especially because Warford is heading into the final year of his contract.
The offensive line, in general, should be a priority for the Saints in the draft because they will eventually have to do some rebuilding alongside fourth-year right tackle Ryan Ramczyk and second-year center Erik McCoy. Armstead and Warford both turn 29 this summer.
Peat is one of 10 Saints starters/key contributors scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent this month. We have broken down QBs Drew Brees and Teddy Bridgewater’s prospects at length. I also took a long look at New Orleans’ five key defensive free agents recently (safety Vonn Bell, cornerbacks Eli Apple and P.J. Williams, linebacker A.J. Klein and defensive tackle David Onyemata). The Saints’ other top unrestricted free agents are fullback Zach Line, who already announced his retirement, and receiver Ted Ginn Jr.
Ginn could potentially come back because he shouldn’t cost very much and remains a good veteran presence in a young position group. But he turns 35 next month and his production has dropped off considerably over the past two years. So that’s a position the Saints must upgrade whether he stays or not.
Source : ESPN
