METAIRIE, La. -- Sean Payton said the New Orleans Saints have discussed three different scenarios for replacing right tackle Zach Strief while he is out with a knee injury -- though Payton didn’t offer up which one the Saints will choose when they host the New England Patriots on Sunday.
Strief suffered a sprained MCL, which should sideline him for about a month.
The easiest scenarios would be starting veteran Senio Kelemete or Bryce Harris at right tackle. Kelemete is primarily a guard and center, but he has also filled in at tackle when needed -- including Monday night after Strief went down. Harris is an experienced tackle who was released before Monday’s game but re-signed a day later.
A more complicated possibility would involve moving rookie first-round draft pick Ryan Ramczyk from left tackle to right tackle and moving former first-round pick Andrus Peat from left guard to left tackle, where Peat started nine games last year. Peat played left tackle at Stanford and has always considered it his most natural position.
But as Payton pointed out Friday, “That would involve a lot of moving parts.”
There are a couple of reasons the Saints might consider it, though. For one thing, Peat and Ramczyk are arguably their two best healthy offensive tackles right now. For another thing, Ramczyk will probably be moved to right tackle in a matter of weeks, anyway, when their longtime starting left tackle Terron Armstead returns from a shoulder injury.
The Saints were originally planning for Ramczyk to play right tackle until Armstead got hurt in June.
I asked Ramczyk the other day if he would feel comfortable enough as a rookie to switch back to the right side when Armstead returns, and he said, “I think so, yeah.”
“Obviously there would be a learning curve flipping to the other side. Not so much mentally, since you’re just flipping from left to right, but just the feel,” Ramczyk said. “I think I’d be alright, but I think I’d have to practice if that’s the case.”
Ramczyk, who was the 32nd pick in the draft, played left tackle at Wisconsin. He held up fairly well in his NFL debut Monday night at Minnesota -- allowing one legal sack to standout defensive end Everson Griffen and another that was nullified because Griffen jumped offside.
“Obviously it’s his first start and he’s going against a good football player, but I was encouraged,” Payton said.
