What this Saints player’s retirement means for the team’s draft plans
If the New Orleans Saints weren’t depleted enough at offensive line, it just got even worse. James Hurst, who filled in at both left guard and left tackle for New Orleans, announced his retirement via an Instagram post Wednesday.
The 32-year-old cited the desire to “start a family” with his wife as one of the primary reasons for his retirement in an interview with neworleans.football.
“You start thinking about life and what’s next and what’s most important to you and it’s definitely my wife and hopefully starting a family,” Hurst said. “I started so many games in New Orleans, that the body starts to break down a little more. Earlier in my career, I was definitely more of a sixth nman, backup, I’d start a game here or there. The toll on your body is nothing what it is when you’re a full-time starter. So I think that definitely factored in as well.”
The Baltimore Ravens signed Hurst as an undrafted free agent out of North Carolina in 2014. He started 44 games in six seasons with the Ravens before signing with the Saints as a depth piece in 2020. He started at least 15 games in each of the past three seasons for New Orleans at both left tackle and left guard.
Both those positions are among the biggest needs for the Saints along with right tackle. While the 6-foot-5, 310-pound utility lineman wasn’t seen as the long-term answer at either position, he was a serviceable safety blanket in case things didn’t go as planned in the NFL Draft.
The Saints have nine picks in this weekend’s draft, most notably at 14th and 45th overall. Offensive tackle feels like an obvious choice due to Ryan Ramczyk’s injury and the inconsistency of 2022 first-round pick Trevor Penning.
“Trevor, obviously as everyone knows, is so physically talented,” Hurst said. “When I say this it’s no slight to [former Saints offensive line coach Doug] Marrone or anyone that’s worked with him in the past, but with a young guy that’s unproven, who knows what happens when you get a new offensive line coach? Playing under so many coaches as I have, everyone says the same things differently. So you never know, coach might come in and say something that breaks it wide open for Trevor.”
Marrone was fired this offseason after two seasons as New Orleans’ offensive line coach. Its newest o-line coach is John Benton, who is now coaching his sixth offensive line unit in the NFL. The 60-year-old was most recently with the New York Jets in 2021 and 2022 and coached the San Francisco 49ers line from 2017-2020. He’s had a good amount of recent experience in the Shanahan system and will try to bring that success to Klint Kubiak’s offense.
“It’s no surprise to anyone in the offensive line room that a ton of [the Saints’] success, particularly on offense, is going to come with how well the offensive line plays,” Hurst said. “We knew that we failed the team on a few occasions and didn’t play well enough as a unit to help the team win a game.”
New Orleans was one of the worst rushing offenses in the NFL last season. Quarterback Derek Carr also suffered several injuries in 2023 and never played fully healthy. The latter doesn’t entirely fall on the offensive line, but there’s plenty of room for improvement with that unit for the Saints in 2024. Hurst retiring doesn’t change everything, but it further emphasizes an offensive line that desperately needs help.
For more on the 2024 NFL Draft, see our 2024 NFL Draft Central.