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Saints Veteran Offensive Lineman Calls It A Career, Announces Retirement

Saints offensive lineman James Hurst has announced his retirement from the NFL.

John Hendrix

Jan 1, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New Orleans Saints offensive tackle James Hurst (74)
Jan 1, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New Orleans Saints offensive tackle James Hurst (74) / Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
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The Saints will need to look for another offensive lineman, in addition to the questions they already have, as their veteran plug-and-play James Hurst has announced his retirement from the NFL. He announced the news via his personal Instagram on Wednesday afternoon.

Every year playing this sport has been a blessing from God. Football, and the people around it, have played a huge part in shaping me into the man I am today. Twenty-Four of my Thirty-Two years of life have been spent training for and playing this game and retiring will be a huge, yet exciting, change in my life.

- James Hurst via Instagram

Hurst, who turned 32 in December, joined the Saints in 2020 after spending the first several years of his career with the Ravens. He ended up playing in 60 games for New Orleans, starting in 51. He was someone the team could place at left guard or left tackle and was a starter last season.

This leaves the Saints in a bit of a conundrum, as the future of Ryan Ramczyk is already in question and the future impact of Trevor Penning is also unknown. They have the No. 14 and 45 picks to work with, and now it would appear they'll go to free agency after the draft to also get some help to backfill his spot.

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John Hendrix
JOHN HENDRIX

I officially started covering the New Orleans Saints & other NFL topics in 2011. My work has been featured on various outlets over the years. I worked closely with Skyhorse Publishing in Fall 2018 to update the book, Tales From the New Orleans Saints Sidelines, which filled in all Saints material from the 2013-2017 seasons. Prior to joining Saints News Network, I served as the Managing Editor of SB Nation's Canal Street Chronicles for 3.5 years, and before that with FanSided's Who Dat Dish as the Managing Editor for several years. I have also had experiences of being a freelance Saints reporter for The Sun Herald in Biloxi, MS and a contributing writer for WDSU, a local NBC TV station in New Orleans. I have appeared on a vast amount of TV and Radio shows, both nationally and locally. For tips, comments, or suggestions, please contact me at johnhendrix@saintsnews.net