Saints Countdown to NFL Kickoff 2021: #62 Nick Easton

Saints News Network's Countdown to Kickoff: 62 Days until the New Orleans Saints Week 1 Matchup vs the Green Bay Packers on September 12th, 2021.

Saints News Network is counting down the days to the Saints' Week 1 clash with the Pack on September 12th, 2021. With 62 days remaining until the kickoff of the 2021 Saints season, here is a look at New Orleans' most recent #62: OL Nick Easton.

#Saints C Nick Easton (@makeitlookeasyy) first visited New Orleans as a ninth-grader lending a helping hand after Katrina. The city will now depend upon his strength, once again, as an important addition to the offensive line.

More from @JohnDeShazier: https://t.co/BrQKd6LdH3 pic.twitter.com/wOajKsczw1

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) July 2, 2019

Nick Easton, 29, is entering his seventh NFL season, after spending his previous  with the New Orleans Saints. A two-sport athlete in High School, Easton elected to play football for the Harvard Crimson. 

In 2011, Easton helped lead the Crimson to the FCS' second-highest scoring offense at 37.4 ppg and 51 TDs. After not participating in football during 2012, Easton returned to the gridiron in 2013, earning All-Ivy League first-team honors. Easton finished his Harvard career with his best individual season. 

The Lenior, NC native was named to the All-Ivy League first team, Third Team FCS All-American, and First Team FCS North All-American. 

The Baltimore Ravens signed Easton as a UDFA following the 2015 NFL Draft. After an impressive preseason, Easton was traded to San Fransisco for a 2016 Draft pick. Minnesota exchanged LB Gerald Hodges for Easton a year after arriving in San Francisco. Over the next two seasons (2016-17), Easton would appear in 23 games, making 17 starts for the Vikings. 

Report: Saints signing Nick Easton to 4-year, $24M contract. https://t.co/BdOJFC9R23 pic.twitter.com/Ekp3ROPPBz

— theScore (@theScore) March 18, 2019

In training camp, prior to the 2018 NFL season, Easton suffered a neck injury. The injury landed him on injured reserve and cost him the season. The New Orleans Saints signed Easton to a four-year, $24M deal in March 2019 after the unexpected retirement of C Max Unger. 

Easton played a key role as a reserve OL in 2019 playing in 10 games and starting 6 in place of the injured LG Andrus Peat. The Harvard Man played 38% of the Saints offensive snaps in 2019, committing only two penalties. 

In 2020, Easton was plagued by injuries and concluded the season on injured reserve. Despite playing a key reserve role for the Saints' offensive line over the past two seasons, Easton was a cap casualty this offseason. He was released in February 2021. The move saved the Saints roughly $6M in Cap Space.

Easton is currently an NFL Free Agent. 

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Follow Saints News Network’s Writer, Brendan Boylan, on Twitter & Instagram at @btboylan.

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