Saints miserable injury update comes with important silver lining

Since 2017, offensive lineman Ryan Ramczyk has been a steady and important piece of the protective measures the New Orleans Saints have in place for their quarterbacks. From Drew Brees to Jameis Winston to Derek Carr, Ramczyk has been there, playing 15-plus games five times.

Ramczyk has made the All-Pro first team once and the second team twice along the way, garnering deserved notoriety for his accomplishments on the field and ability to keep his quarterbacks safe and establish a run game. He's been instrumental in platforming the careers of running backs like Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram II.

2023 was rough year for Ramczyk, who dealt with a knee injury. At first the injury was postured as normal seasonal wear and tear, but when he didn't recover well or as expected, Ramczyk and the team explored other options, which led to Ramczyk getting surgery this offseason to repair a cartilage defect.

Ryan Ramczyk is not recovering from surgery well

According to NewOrleans.football's Nick Underhill, the Saints and Ramcyzk are concerned with how he's recovering (or rather, not recovering) after the surgery. Underhill noted that head coach Dennis Allen, specifically, felt better a few weeks ago before the surgery than he does now.

Ian Rapoport added color that the team is concerned about whether they may be without him for all of 2024.

The news is obviously bad for the Saints, because now they're possibly rostering a player for the year that might not see the field. The possibility of him being out for the year may be good news in that it's at least clarity: The Saints can put him on injured reserve and free up a roster spot. But the news itself is hugely negative.

It's bad for Ramczyk, too, who considered retirement and just gambled on the surgery going well by restructuring his contract with the Saints. He took less money in 2024 (veteran minimum with a generous signing bonus) and added an escalator in for 2025. If his career is done, it may be difficult for him to recapture some of the money he moved to 2025 the way the contract is currently structured.

New Orleans has sometimes done right by players and given them restructures that get them some money as they head out the door, but they may not have the cap space to do so with Ramczyk if his career is surprisingly over. New Orleans may also feel the signing bonus they just gave him is his parting gift if it comes to that.

Offensive lineman's injury is one of several that could be detrimental to 2024

Ramczyk's injury is even more concerning when you consider that he's far from the only undetermined injury that the Saints are dealing with in a key spot on the roster. New Orleans just signed defensive end Chase Young who just underwent neck surgery.

New Orleans gave Young an incentive-heavy deal and knew that his neck injury was lingering and needed repair. It was a calculated risk, one they're comfortable with, but they won't know how he recovers from neck surgery for some time.

There's a chance Young's surgery also doesn't go that well. That could leave New Orleans without Ramczyk or Young, big hits to the overall structure of the roster.

The only positive to Ryan Ramczyk's injury is the timing

One good thing with Ramczyk's injury: The Saints have this information ahead of the NFL Draft, where they could look to take an offensive tackle. New Orleans needs to get younger in every position but wide receiver. While New Orleans is still hoping Trevor Penning can bounce back and prove he's not a bust, making another selection to add some youth to the line would be wise.

The only upside here is that the Saints didn't get this injury update after the draft, when they may have been out of luck on finding a solid replacement.