The Saints have Super Bowl aspirations. To get there, someone will have to step up at a couple of key positions.
“We’ve got some tough circumstances we’re dealing with right now,” Brees told Larry Holder of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
Starting left tackle Terron Armstead will miss several months after injuring his shoulder during offseason workouts. Quarterback Drew Brees provided a blunt assessment of the situation on Tuesday.
“Listen, that’s a big blow. I’m not going to lie,” Brees told
Teammate Zach Strief recently pegged Ryan Ramczyk as the frontrunner to replace Armstead. Brees spoke in more guarded terms.
“Hey, everybody gets thrown into the fire at some point,” Brees said. “I don’t know if that’s going to be Week One with [Ramczyk]. But he has to be ready to play. No question.”
Brees also suggested that former tackle Andrus Peat could slide back outside from the guard position.
The franchise quarterback also lamented the loss of defensive tackle Nick Fairley, who’ll be out for the year after a heart condition prompted the team to place fairly on the non-football illness list.
“This is so unfortunate,” Brees said. “I know how hard he worked last year to put himself into a position to be one of the mainstays on our defense. To lose a guy like that on something that’s kind of just of a freak thing, I know he’s heartbroken. We are as well to not have him.”
Nearly every team must deal with injury issues at some point in the year. The Saints are facing multiple issues already, and the hitting hasn’t even begun yet.