The absence of Erik McCoy from the beginning of the Week 3 contest against the Philadelphia Eagles until Week 11 against the Cleveland Browns is the biggest blow the New Orleans Saints took this season.
That injury was compounded with other injuries to the interior offensive line, but it felt McCoy’s injury was the most crippling of the bunch. Why are we rehashing the past?
McCoy re-aggravated his groin injury in his first game back. Darren Rizzi labeled McCoy as a gametime decision versus the Los Angeles Rams. The concern about this announcement comes on two fronts.
One, the Saints would be without their best offensive lineman and the leader of that unit. We saw the impact of his absence once, and there should be fear his absence could have a similar impact again.
Secondly, Rizzi exuded confidence about McCoy playing when asked about the center’s health after the Browns game. This would suggest things aren’t progressing as well as hoped.
You don’t want to rush him out there if he isn’t ready. He’s already injured the groin twice, so you want to step carefully here. If McCoy can’t go, it’ll be Shane Lemieux who would fill in at center.
