New Orleans Saints Add Two Free-Agent Offensive Linemen

Saints continue to bolster their offensive line, adding two veteran free agents on Monday per reports

Nick Underhill of neworleans.football reports that the New Orleans Saints are signing veteran offensive linemen Shane Lemieux and Justin Herron on Monday.

Lemieux, who turns 27 on May 12, has been in the NFL for four seasons. He played collegiately at Oregon, where he was back-to-back 1st Team All-Pac 12 and a 1st Team All-American in 2019 as a guard for one of the more productive offenses in the country.

The New York Giants selected Lemieux with a fifth-round choice in the 2020 NFL Draft. He’d win the starting job at left tackle midway through the year as a rookie, finishing 2020 with 12 game appearances and nine starts. Early into the 2021 campaign, Lemieux was knocked out for the season after just one game with a knee injury.

Lemieux was hit by the injury bug again in 2022. A turf toe injury kept him out of all but one contest. Lemieux suffered a torn biceps early last year, again ending his season after only four games.

Herron, 28, was a sixth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots out of Wake Forest. He’d appear in 28 games at guard over his first two years with the Patriots, starting 10 contests. Herron has been with the Las Vegas Raiders for the last two years. He’s appeared in only seven games with the Raiders, starting once.

Unfinished Business: Justin Herron - Wake Forest University Athletics

Offensive line continues to be a big need for New Orleans. The Saints ranked just 21st in rushing yardage last year, finishing next-to-last in average per carry and struggling in pass protection most of the season.

Starting LG James Hurst retired just prior to this year’s draft. Left tackle Trevor Penning, a first-round choice in 2022, was benched after six games last year for poor play and remains a huge question. Veteran G/T Andrus Peat, who replaced Penning, remains a free agent, as does G Trai Turner. Starting RT Ryan Ramczyk is dealing with a degenerative knee issue, putting both his season and career in doubt.

The Saints spent their first-round pick on Oregon State OT Taliese Fuaga last Thursday. They also added Eastern Kentucky OT Josiah Ezirim in the seventh round and former Vikings G/T Olisaemeka Udoh in free agency.

Related Posts