Saints make three roster moves around McCoy absence

The New Orleans Saints announced a trio of roster moves on Wednesday, all related to the groin injury and surgery that will sideline starting center Erik McCoy for an estimated 6-8 weeks.

Here are the moves the Saints made and their impacts:

• Erik McCoy has been moved to Injured Reserve  (IR), as expected.
• The Saints signed offensive lineman Shane Lemieux from the practice squad to the active roster
• The Saints added free agent interior lineman Chris Reed.

With McCoy on IR, he is required to be out the next four weeks at minimum but can remain on the list for as long as needed. Once he is healthy enough to be activated, the team will be able to open a three-week practice window allowing him time to get back in football condition if needed. Otherwise, he can go directly to the active roster. 

The 6-8 estimated timetable currently placed him back with the team come Week 10 game against the Atlanta Falcons at home or coming off of the Week 12 bye week.

The elevation of Lemieux from the practice squad to the active roster makes perfect sense. He has a ton of versatility on the interior and played both guard and center for the Saints throughout training camp and the preseason. Initially, he should be considered as depth along the inside, however if Ruiz ends up missing time as well, Lemieux could quickly be brought in to contribute.

The addition of Reed effectively replaced Lemieux on the practice squad. Reed has a lot of experience across the interior and has been in the NFL since 2015. The move adds another veteran depth piece that they can call upon as a standard elevation while offensive line numbers are slimmed.