New Orleans Saints: Individually grading the team’s dominant offensive line
ANDRUS PEAT – GUARD
GRADE: C –
2019 Statistics
Offensive Snaps Played: 575
Penalties: 3
Sacks Allowed: 3
PFF Grade: 49.7
2020 Status: Unrestricted Free Agent
If you are a Saints fan reviewing these grades, this is the one you really wanted to know about. Andrus Peat was drafted in the first round in the 2015 NFL Draft, selected 13th overall. Since playing for the Saints, Peat has made the Pro Bowl each of his last two seasons.
If we left you right there, you may be under the assumption that the Saints nailed a first-round bruiser on the line at 6-foot-7 and 315 pounds for years to come. That couldn’t be farther than the truth.
While Peat did have a much better year in 2018 than any other, 2019 was not great.
He missed the final 6 regular-season games due to to a broken arm suffered during a game with the Atlanta Falcons this season. He did, however, make it back to play against the Minnesota Vikings in the playoffs.
Despite only playing 10 regular-season games this year, Peat still gave up 3 sacks this year, compared to only 2 the previous season, playing 3 more games and 164 more snaps. Considering his regular season stats were completed at that time, Adam Schefter’s Twitter report of the injury suggested that he was “playing at a Pro-Bowl level again”.
Saints’ Pro-Bowl G Andrus Peat, playing at a Pro-Bowl level again, broke his arm during Sunday’s loss to the Falcons and underwent surgery today that is expected to sideline him six weeks, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 13, 2019
This was strange to hear watching defenders fly by him and getting knocked down this season.
He was on the trading block last season with a $9,625,000 salary that wasn’t worth the price, but stayed through the entire season. It seems he may be the most likely lineman to leave on the starters, and being an unrestricted free agent in 2020 may be the end of his tenure with the team.