Saints: Terron Armstead can benefit from a spectacular season

In all likelihood, this will be the final year that fans see Terron Armstead in a New Orleans Saints uniform. Maybe an extension gets carved out prior to the 2021 season kicking off, but if not, Armstead probably won’t be long for New Orleans.

That’s assuming that he plays as well as he has been this upcoming season. If he performs like the three-time Pro Bowler we’ve seen in the past three seasons, Armstead will be in high demand this offseason by teams needing a left tackle.

As we saw this past offseason, left tackles aren’t cheap. Trent Williams signed a six-year deal worth $136 million with the 49ers and he landed that contract entering his age 33 season, which shows that as long as left tackles are still producing, they’ll get paid a lot of dough.

This makes sense, of course, as left tackles are the anchor of the offensive line. They protect the quarterback’s blind side (well, at least the right-handed quarterbacks) and their importance in an offensive line cannot be understated.

Terron Armstead could make a lot of money if he plays well this year.

The Saints are expecting the same old Armstead to take the field this season and it’s nice knowing they have a dependable guy on the left side of the line. This is a guy who masterfully protected three different quarterbacks in 2020 and not only that, but each of those quarterbacks had a different style of play, making what Armstead did even more impressive. Oh and if that isn’t enough, he helped allow for another monster season from Alvin Kamara.

Teams are always going to overpay for left tackles, especially high-quality ones. Armstead is going to be one of the best left tackles on the market next year and if he does get to free agency, it’ll be hard for New Orleans to retain him given their financial issues. Armstead turns 30 next month but as noted with Williams’ contract, that’s hardly going to be looked at as an issue.

Terron Armstead can ensure that he locks down a massive contract if he plays to his ability this year. While the Saints will obviously benefit from an excellent season from Armstead, losing him following 2021 will be a tough blow to their offensive line.

Both sides can benefit from a solid season from Armstead but fans are certainly hoping an extension gets done before the 2021 season gets underway.