Saints add veteran guard Chris Reed

After losing their starting center Erik McCoy for the next 6-8 weeks, the New Orleans Saints have begun the process of shuffling their offensive line talent.

The Saints are now faced with a tough task of replacing McCoy, who was not only their best offensive lineman, but was the highest graded lineman in the NFL per Pro Football Focus (PFF) through the first two games.

How New Orleans approaches this challenge will become clearer in the coming days, but one move has been reported which suggests a ripple effect of other moves. Per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill, the Saints have added offensive lineman Chris Reed to their practice squad.

Reed entered the league as a 2015 undrafted free agent out of Minnesota State. He started with the Jacksonville Jaguars and has also spent time with the Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts and Minnesota Vikings. He also had a quick stint this offseason with the Houston Texans.

Reed has lined up all along the interior throughout his playing career. Per PFF, he spent 1,831 snaps at left guard, 124 at center and 388 at right guard. His versatility on the interior will be a key addition for depth purposes to the practice squad.

This signing also allows us to presume that someone was elevated from the practice squad to the active roster, which also infers that McCoy will be or has been moved to Injured Reserve. Otherwise, the active and practice squad roster spots would not be available for Reed to be added.

A veteran with versatility like Shane Limieux would make sense to move up to provide additional depth along the line on the active roster. The current expectation by many for now is that starting left guard Lucas Patrick will move to center while another player steps in at left guard. The Saints are set to practice Wednesday afternoon where more information will be made apparent and available.