Saints should consider calling this underrated free agent following Ryan Ramczyk news

With NFL teams starting training camp, this is the part of the offseason where the veteran free agents that have lingered in free agency start to get signed. Once camp starts rolling, unfortunately, some players will get injured. Additionally, some players will just be underwhelming, and teams will learn they won’t be able to count on those players like they hoped they would be able to.

Whatever the circumstance, teams will get a better idea of what they need to compete. That has already started to happen for the New Orleans Saints. While their first training camp practice isn’t until Wednesday, July 24, the franchise has already made a season-altering move. New Orleans recently placed veteran right tackle Ryan Ramczyk on the reserve PUP list, sidelining him the entire 2024 season.

With Ramczyk out, the Saints will only return two linemen that started the bulk of last season’s games— center Erik McCoy and right guard Cesar Ruiz. At the tackle positions, New Orleans will lean on two young and inexperienced players: rookie Taliese Fuaga at left tackle and third-year lineman Trevor Penning at right tackle.

While both young guys could deliver, cementing themselves as starting tackles in New Orleans, the franchise would be foolish to not add a veteran insurance option. Fortunately, Donovan Smith is currently a free agent, and the team should definitely bring him to camp.

Saints should go after veteran tackle Donovan Smith

Smith is no stranger to the NFC South, playing the first eight years of his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played last season with the Kansas City Chiefs, helping them win a Super Bowl— the second of Smith’s career.

Ahead of his 10th NFL season, he’s only 31 years old. Playing, and starting, 136 games in his career, Smith could definitely help out in New Orleans. In a recent Bleacher Report piece, highlighting underrated free agents, Smith was called “a plug-and-play type of veteran that doesn't need a ton of fine tuning.”

That’s exactly what the Saints need. Expectations are high for Fuaga, but he’s still a rookie, so his performance level is an unknown. Penning, on the other hand, hasn’t impressed in two seasons, and was benched last year. Maybe another year, and a move to right tackle, could do him well, but it also could be more of the same.

With 2024 being a make-or-break season for New Orleans, it can’t afford too many gambles. The Saints should improve their offensive line for the 2024 season by signing Donovan Smith.

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