Saints team has "Great players, Great history, and Pedigree" - OL James Hurst

OL James Hurst decided to sign with the New Orleans Saints based on team's great players, great history, and pedigree.

The appeal of signing with the New Orleans Saints was because of the team having "so many great players, such a great history, and pedigree," said OL James Hurst to the media on Thursday afternoon.

Newly signed Saints OL James Hurst spoke to media about his decision to sign with New Orleans media, his offseason, and what to expect from him as a player.  Hurst is joining one of the best offensive line units in the NFL. He expressed his excitement and said, "Great opportunity to go from one good unit to another [in New Orleans]."  His ability to be a versatile offensive lineman was an attraction for the team.   In Baltimore, he started at LT in the AFC North against fast, and strong edge rushers; the should give Hurst an advantage in training camp.  Another strength of Hurst is his blocking ability in the rushing game.  

Credit:  New Orleans Saints - Hurst Media Conference

New Orleans Saints reporter, James DeShazier asked, "How much do you feel like that leadership element, you can bring to the saints on the team that's already pretty veteran team."  

"Yeah, it's definitely a veteran team, which is, which is different, you know, last year the Ravens were a really young team so it'll be a big difference this year. But, I'm excited about that. Having some experience and just being able to help where I can. I just want to bring what I've learned, and you know, give that to the team and hopefully learn things in return. I'm excited about that. I'm getting time and get two experience groups that come together, they can learn a lot from each other, and at the end of the day it's going to make your team better, so it's a really cool aspect..."

If Hurst earns a roster spot after training camp, he will enter his seventh professional season in the NFL.  He signed with Baltimore as a UDFA rookie in 2014.  During his tenure in Baltimore, he played both LT and LG for the Ravens.  

The training camp battles will be fierce along the offensive line in New Orleans, with 15 players signed to the roster. Hurst's ability to play both LT and LG could be an asset for the Saints.  Offensive line starters LT Terron Armstead and LG Andrus Peat have missed playing time because of injury over the past few seasons.

A couple of Baltimore teammates spoke with Hurst about the Saints culture, which helped him decide to sign with New Orleans. The Saints have already sent James his playbook, and he's communicated with his position coach Dan Roushar.

"You know I feel like I'm very internally motivated person. For the most part it doesn't take anyone, you know, saying something to me... I just want to accomplish my goals, and I want to be a great teammate. Those are the two things that I strive to do. And, I'm gonna work as hard as I can to do them every single day. And, I'll just be excited. You know it's fascinating we can go back out, play some ball on Sundays."

Hurst has started in 44 NFL games at offensive LG & LT for Baltimore Ravens in his career. In February, the NFL suspended him for the first four games of 2020 season due to violating the performance-enhancement policy.  

Hurst played in 99 games with the Ravens and started in 44 contests from 2014–2019. Baltimore decided to release Hurst on March 16, 2020, and New Orleans signed him on May 27, 2020, to a one year contract.