Ryan Ramczyk missing the 2024 season will be a tough challenge for Saints to overcome

The New Orleans Saints have been warning of a reality without Ryan Ramczyk on the field in 2024 all offseason, but that doesn’t make the news any easier. On Thursday, the Saints placed the veteran right tackle on the reserve PUP list, ending his 2024 season before it even got started.

This is the result of a knee injury that Ramczyk opened up about late last season. Initially, he expressed concern the knee issue could end his career. However, after a surgery earlier this offseason, the team had a more optimistic outlook. The belief was the surgery would give Ramczyk the opportunity to get back on the field.

Unfortunately, that optimism was quickly snatched away once his knee didn’t respond to the surgery like everyone had hoped. From that point, New Orleans was honest about the possibility of Ramczyk being sidelined for the 2024 season, and the team started to prepare for it.

Saints place Ryan Ramczyk on reserve PUP list, ending his 2024 season

Moving forward with the offensive line, the team will rely on a few young and inexperienced players. New Orleans drafted Taliese Fuaga with the 14th-overall pick, and he’s projected to start at left tackle. For Ramczyk’s replacement, the Saints moved Trevor Penning over to right tackle.

Penning has struggled at left tackle in his two years in the league with New Orleans, but he’s getting another chance on the opposite side of the line. The Saints need Penning to deliver just as much as he needs to deliver for the sake of his career.

All in all, New Orleans will start three different linemen this season, with Erik McCoy and Cesar Ruiz being the only holdovers. The rebuilt offensive line will be under a microscope as the Saints try to get back to a dominant run game in this make-or-break year.

As for Ryan Ramczyk, his career could be over. He hasn’t announced retirement, but he and the team have both been open about the fact this knee issue could be a career-ending injury. He could wait and see how the knee responds over the next year before making a decision, but we won’t see him on the field anytime soon.

READ MORE