The New Orleans Saints have a sizable hole to fill along its offensive line.
The position group was already a need heading into Thursday night’s NFL Draft, but became more of a need after versatile and veteran offensive lineman James Hurst announced that he was retiring from the NFL.
Hurst made the announcement on Instagram writing the following, “Twenty-four of my thirty-two years of life have been spent training for and playing this game and retiring will be a huge, yet exciting, change in my life.”
Hurst played 150 games in 10 NFL seasons with his first six being with the Baltimore Ravens, and his last four with the Saints, where he started 51 games. The former North Carolina Tar Heel played every offensive line position except center during his Saints tenure.
During the 2023 season for the Saints, he started games at left tackle (one), left guard (13) and right guard (one).
Hurst also wrote about his teammates, “Thank you for the laughs and the memories. Thank you for your effort and risking your bodies alongside me because I can’t talk football without recognizing the dangers of the sport and the sacrifices that each of you make. You gave everything to help accomplish our mutual goals and I hope that you all felt the same of me. Many of you became some of my best friends off the field and I’ll always cherish our time together.”
Hurst’s retirement makes the offensive line even more of a need for the Saints.
Andrus Peat, who started the 11 games at left tackle last season, is an unrestricted free agent. Trevor Penning, a first-round pick in 2022, who started the first five games of last season at left tackle, was benched due to ineffectiveness.
In addition, longtime starting right tackle Ryan Ramczyk underwent off-season knee surgery, and his status for the 2024 season remains up in the air.
The Saints have the No. 14 overall pick in Thursday night’s NFL Draft.