Saints Offensive Line Triage: Banks Out, Richards Vulnerable, Shough at Risk

Kelvin Banks, the Saints' No. 9 overall pick from last year's draft, underwent surgery this week for a severe high ankle sprain and is now on injured reserve. The team has not published a recovery timeline, but the practical floor is four weeks—and the ceiling likely extends into November. In the meantime, fourth-year tackle Asim Richards has inherited the blind side, a responsibility he has handled with visible strain. Pro Football Watch grades him at 53.3, with particular weakness in run blocking and short-area pass protection. The timing could not be worse. Tyler Shough, the Saints' second-year quarterback, has already absorbed 10 sacks through three games while posting 917 passing yards and eight touchdowns—both top-three in the league. That sack rate is unsustainable, and losing Banks threatens to accelerate it.

New Orleans worked out 17 players across Tuesday and Wednesday, per the NFL's personnel notice, with the offensive line search centered on experienced stopgap help. Cornelius Lucas, a 12-year veteran who started 59 games primarily for Washington from 2020 to 2024, was the marquee tackle audition. Lucas did solid work in the NFC East but saw his play deteriorate in five starts for Cleveland last season—a red flag when asked to plug into a high-pressure spot. Cody Ford, a second-round pick from 2019 who has bounced between Buffalo, Arizona, Cincinnati, and free agency, also attended. Ford logged 29 games as Buffalo's starter early in his career and five starts at left tackle for Cincinnati in 2024, but he is now on the veteran scrap heap, suggesting the market has already priced his decline. Nicholas Petit-Frere and Aamil Wagner rounded out the tackle group, though neither carries the credibility of a proven starting option.

The Saints also cycled through edge rushers—David Ojabo and Julian Okwara among them—as the front office diversified its roster search. Ojabo, a 2022 second-rounder out of Baltimore, posted 2.5 sacks across 27 games and 471 snaps over two injury-plagued seasons. Okwara spent 2025 on the Browns' practice squad before being cut, and is available for a reason. Separately, the team worked out running back depth with Travis Etienne nursing a hamstring injury, suggesting the Saints are bracing for extended absence in the backfield as well.

From a betting perspective, the chain of risk is now transparent. Shough is being asked to survive behind a patchwork line with inexperienced, unproven protection—the exact scenario that inflates sack totals and compresses completion percentages. If Lucas or Ford sign and earn immediate starting reps, the quality of pressure he faces may improve marginally, but neither candidate carries a track record of elite play. Defenses facing the Saints over the next four to six weeks will exploit Richards' fundamental gaps at a higher frequency. The market has already begun repricing Shough's passing volume and accuracy downward, but the sack projection may lag. Lean unders on Shough's passing-yards line for games where Richards is still the primary left tackle; the regression is driven by survival pressure, not talent fade, and will persist until Banks returns or a genuinely capable replacement emerges.