A staple of the New Orleans Saints' defense has stepped away from the game. Per NFL insider Ian Rapoport, Tyrann Mathieu has announced his decision to retire. The news comes at the most inopportune time for the Saints: right before the start of training camp.
With Mathieu out of the picture, rookie safety Jonas Sanker will have to step up far earlier than anybody could have expected.
The third round pick was expected to learn from Mathieu this year. Instead of just seeing the field often, Sanker may become a full time starter Week 1.
Rookie Jonas Sanker set to start for Saints after Tyrann Mathieu retirement
While this news isn't all too pleasant for Saints fans, it gives Sanker the chance to make an impact early in his career. When the Saints took Sanker in the third round of April's draft, he was expected to sit behind Mathieu for the early part of his career. It would give New Orleans a smooth off-ramp whenever Mathieu decided to hang up his cleats.
They couldn't have anticipated that the off-ramp would come immediately.
Now, Sanker is the assumed starting free safety in a secondary full of new faces. He'll play alongside Justin Reid, whom the Saints signed in free agency.
Sanker was an incredibly productive safety in college. In two seasons as a full-time starter at Virginia, Sanker racked up over 200 tackles, one interception, three forced fumbles, and four fumble recoveries. He was always around the football, making game-changing plays for his defense.
Hopefully, he can bring a similar level of impact to New Orleans. Mathieu was a key piece of the Saints' defense, and he consistently found a way to force turnovers. In his three seasons in New Orleans, Mathieu had ten interceptions and three forced fumbles.
Of course, the Saints could look to bring in another veteran safety in free agency. There are plenty of options available, including former Saints' draft pick Marcus Williams. Even if a veteran addition were brought in just as support for Sanker, it could help him in his adjustment to the speed of the NFL game.
Sanker was coming into training camp expecting to learn from Mathieu, preparing to one day take over his starting position. Now, he's being thrown into the deep end as a starter on a team with playoff aspirations (as unrealistic as those aspirations may be).
Saints fans will find out quickly what type of player Sanker will be. This is trial by fire for the rookie third-round pick. If he can't step into this new role and be productive, it could be a disaster for the Saints.