Veteran offensive tackle James Hurst announced his retirement from the NFL on Wednesday, marking the end of a 10-year professional career. The 32-year-old was originally undrafted out of North Carolina in the 2014 class and signed by the Baltimore Ravens as a free agent. He spent six seasons with Baltimore before four campaigns with the New Orleans Saints. Hurst played in 150 games with 95 starts, so he clearly exceeded expectations and is a feel-good story for undrafted prospects.
The Athletic's Larry Holder lists New Orleans Saints offensive guard/tackle James Hurst as a potential salary cap casualty this offseason. At the start of the offseason, the Saints sat around $83 million in the red, according to Over the Cap. Hurst and linebacker Demario Davis are the only two players who would give the Saints 2024 salary cap relief of more than $3 million each on their entire roster. Releasing Hurst would free up around $4.2 million, so he's one of the most obvious salary cap casualties for the team. The 32-year-old veteran missed two games in 2023 due to an ankle injury but was New Orleans' starting left tackle when healthy. The 10-year NFL veteran has been with the Saints for the last four seasons after spending the first six years of his career with the Baltimore Ravens.
New Orleans Saints left guard James Hurst (ankle) is questionable to return versus the Houston Texans in Week 6. He had played the bulk of New Orleans' offense snaps this season but was expected to play a reserve role with Andrus Peat (groin) active Sunday. Peat should continue to handle the bulk of left guard snaps with Hurst sidelined.
The New Orleans Saints re-signed offensive lineman James Hurst to an undisclosed three-year deal on Monday, according to a league source. Hurst sat out the first four games of the 2020 season because of a suspension stemming from his time with the Baltimore Ravens. He appeared in 12 regular season games (three starts) and gave the Saints a versatile offensive lineman that filled several different roles as a swing player. Two of his three starts came at left tackle in place of Terron Armstead, who was put on the COVID-19 list. Hurst also started one game at guard. When he wasn't starting, Hurst was the sixth offensive lineman in jumbo packages.
Saints Bolster Offensive Line By Signing James Hurst
The New Orleans Saints have signed offensive lineman James Hurst to a one-year deal, per his agent, Jack Bechta of JB Sports Agency. Coming out of North Carolina, Hurst was a part of the Baltimore Ravens from 2014-2019 after signing as an undrafted free agent with them in 2014. Last season with the Ravens, the 28-year-old was downgraded to a backup. Throughout his career, the offensive lineman has played in 90 games and started in 44, playing left tackle or left guard most of the time. He was released in March after being suspended for the first four games of 2020 for performance-enhancing drug violations. At this point, Hurst's role with New Orleans will likely be as a backup after he's eligible to return in Week 5.
