After joining the New Orleans Saints in 2020, James Hurst was without a doubt the most versatile offensive tackle on the team.
He was perhaps the team’s best offensive lineman at the time.
He retired from the NFL on Wednesday, leaving a significant vacancy on the Saints’ offensive line after ten seasons (six with Baltimore) and 150 games, including 60 (with 51 starts) for New Orleans.
Hurst announced his retirement on Instagram, saying, “Twenty-four of my thirty-two years have been spent training for and playing this game, and retiring will be a huge, yet exciting, change in my life.”
Hurst remarked to his teammates, “Thank you for the laughs and memories.” Thank you for your efforts and risking your lives beside me; I can’t talk football without acknowledging the hazards of the sport and the sacrifices that everyone of you makes. You contributed everything to assist us achieve our common goals, and I hope you all thought the same of me. Many of you were some of my closest friends off the field, and I’ll always remember our time together.”
Hurst, a free agent rookie in 2014 after four seasons at North Carolina, played every offensive line position except center for the Saints. Last year, he opened games at left tackle (one), left guard (13) and right guard (one), and in 2021, he will start at four positions: left (eight) and right (three) tackle, left guard (two), and extra lineman (two).
Hurst started five of twelve games in his first season in New Orleans in 2020, and went on to start 46 of his final 48 games with the Saints, including the final 31.
Prior to joining the Saints, he started 44 of 90 games with the Ravens over six seasons, playing left tackle, left guard, and right tackle.
“A huge thank you to both the Ravens and Saints organizations for giving me a chance to pursue my dream in the NFL,” he wrote in an email. “I appreciate you taking the time to shape me into the guy and player I am today. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized how much you’ve sacrificed for me and all of my colleagues.”
Hurst’s resignation was not anticipated, but it adds to the roles that New Orleans must fill.
Andrus Peat, who started the last 11 games as left tackle last season, is an unrestricted free agent. Trevor Penning, a first-round pick in 2022 who began the first five games of 2023 at left tackle, was supplanted as starter due to ineffectiveness. Hurst primarily started at left guard while Peat and Penning were at left tackle.
Also, the Saints are monitoring the progress and availability of right tackle Ryan Ramczyk, who underwent offseason knee surgery.
