Saints Planning To Let Terron Armstead Test Free Agency? (1 Viewer)

[Saint Kamara]

Love TA. I don't think his age is a concern. His athletic ability was so off the chart that even losing steps with age he is still elite and will likely remain elite for years to come. I could see this being a similar situation to Willie Roaf where he just doesn't decline until his late 30's. Plus OT is one of those positions where steadily improving technique can overcome the decline in athletic ability.

Injury history and contract value is an entirely different story.

It'll be as easy as this though, if we let him walk and can't find a really good replacement then we will regret it. If we can fill the position it will not be that big of a deal and we can save money.

Roaf didn't play anywhere close to his late 30s much less decline during that time.

 

[Saint Kamara]

Reading this reminded me of the Carl Nicks/Ben Grubbs situation.. We didn't pay Nicks top dollar, and we settled for Grubbs who wasn't as expensive but still was far from cheap. Grubbs was okay for us, but no where near what could have been if we hung on to Nicks. Finding a really good replacement is still going to cost serious money, assuming we're going to attempt to fill that hole with a veteran player. We could always draft a tackle high next year, with the intent of moving Ram to the left side since the right side is historically an easier transition for players coming out of college. But there's some risk involved with that. For as fortunate as we've been hitting on O-line selected high (Ram, McCoy, Ruiz), we may not run that good forever.

But Nicks' career quickly came crashing down so luckily we didn't re-sign him.

 

[saint_drago]

This is would be a tough call. On one hand here you have a proven Pro Bowl LT who should still have some good football left in him. On the other hand he's expensive and injury prone. Is the juice worth the squeeze?

You'd think at some point we're going to be forced to part ways with some of these expensive vets. We're already backed up against the cap without a giant QB contract on the books. Tough decisions ahead. Glad I don't have to make them.

 

[Snakehead]

Roaf didn't play anywhere close to his late 30s much less decline during that time.

Facts. He only played 10 games in his age 35 season. Never sniffed his late 30s. So really, it was early 30s where the decline occurred.

 

[Snakehead]

What's the saying, something about letting them go 1 year too early than 1 year too late.

 

[Magic_Leather_Jacket]

Saints Planning To Let Terron Armstead Test Free Agency?

The Saints have continually prioritized their offensive line, which currently consists of four former first-round picks and ex-second-rounder Erik McCoy. …

www.profootballrumors.com

Your guess is as good as mine on this one. I thought they would have signed Williams, and Lattimore would have been the odd man out, but it now looks more like Armstead is going to be that guy. T Landon Young of Ky looked good in the preseason. He will have a whole season to make up Sean's mind.

Armstead hitting free agency would make him one of the top players available. By trimming $100MM-plus in cap space and finding room for a Marcus Williams franchise tag, the Saints showed this year they will create space for players they deem essential. After extending Ramczyk and Marshon Lattimore, will they end up letting both Armstead and Williams walk?

I’ve been expecting this. It’s why they paid Andres Peat. Ram slides to LT and Peat slides to right (assuming he ever figured out how to block from the right).

 

[Sailorsaint]

Facts. He only played 10 games in his age 35 season. Never sniffed his late 30s. So really, it was early 30s where the decline occurred.

Wasn't he caught up in that staph infection incident they had in the locker room? Seems I remember him getting really ill and weak.

 

[bclemms]

Roaf didn't play anywhere close to his late 30s much less decline during that time.

That's what I was saying, he didn't decline at all. Walked out in his mid 30's and was still 1st team all pro in his last season. He could have easily played a few more years before seeing any real decline. I sure could have worded it better though.

 

[Snakehead]

Wasn't he caught up in that staph infection incident they had in the locker room? Seems I remember him getting really ill and weak.

Not sure about Roaf. Nicks got caught up in the medical issues at TB. His last full season was in 2011 with the Saints. It was a nightmare for him when he left the Saints.

 

[Nolan]

But Nicks' career quickly came crashing down so luckily we didn't re-sign him.

I mean, that situation was pretty specific to Tampa Bay, they had at least 3-4 players get staph infection. That's pretty much what ruined his career.

 

[bartk12]

Isn’t the entire article just speculation from a writer who quotes a espn analyst that says he heard some things. Things that, from all the reactions on the board, seem quite logical and are in effect just connecting the dots on his current contract.
If the Saints want to keep him they will find a way.
Isn’t Mickey Loomis’ mantra “the cap is not a problem just an obstacle to work around”

 

[Saint Greg]

But Nicks' career quickly came crashing down so luckily we didn't re-sign him.

But wasn't it due to some kind of infection he caught in the Bucs locker room? May not have happened here.

 

[Saint Greg]

It's not surprising. I knew it was going to be difficult to keep two top 5 OTs. Terron is injury prone and on the wrong side of 30. He should get a nice contract that will give us a 3rd round comp pick. We're either going to have to move Ram or Peat or draft a LT. Unless we win the lottery with the Landon Young.

 

[GilFinnerty]

Lattimore is a shut down Corner. You dont let that walk out the door Armstead is a stud but hes in his 30s now and often injured. Although LT is argubaly thr 2nd most important position in football. You have Peat under contract who can slide to LT and much easier to find servicable LG guard snaps. And maybe u have someone in Young who can give you servacable LT snaps. All he did is get it done at Kentucky

 

[Covington Saint]

We'll be in the market to replace Ram at RT. Either draft or FA or both. Not that difficult of a hurdle. Marcus will be tagged if long term deal not worked out.