Saints Could Strike Gold By Signing Ex-Notre Dame Lineman With 'Upside'

New Orleans needs to hit on a few cheap free agents

Oct 19, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A Notre Dame Fighting Irish helmet on the field before a game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Left guard is one of the New Orleans Saints’ most urgent positional needs heading into free agency and the draft.

As the Saints look to fortify their offensive line with a key signing, Philadelphia Eagles guard Mekhi Becton is a name in the ether, but he might be too expensive for cash-strapped New Orleans.

And while the Saints could draft a guard, they’re certainly not going to do so at No. 9 overall, and besides, it would be preferable to bring in someone with a few years of NFL experience to shore up the line.

One guy to keep an eye on for the Saints is Los Angeles Chargers center Sam Mustipher, who’s had a journeyman career since joining the Chicago Bears undrafted out of Notre Dame in 2019.

After an up-and-down few years with the Bears, Mustipher spent time with the Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos before the Charges signed him to their practice squad in August 2024 and promoted him to the active roster in October.

It’s easy to lose touch with the concept of success and failure when evaluating professional athletes, and while many fans would deem Mustipher’s career a failure thus far, the man has already stacked $4.6 million in career earnings. At 28 years old, he still has a chance to play impactful football for the right team, too, and that team could be the Saints in 2025, especially if Mustipher can play guard effectively for New Orleans.

Mustipher could be a sneaky-good cheap option for the Saints along the O-line. On Friday, Athlon Sports’ John Hendrix mentioned Mustipher in connection to New Orleans.

“It's critical for the Saints to figure out what they're going to do at left guard,” Hendrix wrote. 

“There seemed to be a decent plan in place last year, but unfortunately injuries forced a lot of those best-laid plans out of the door. … That caused quite the carousel for the Saints offensive line, as they had a lot of makeshift lineups.”

“Maybe someone like Sam Mustipher could come to New Orleans for depth with an upside to compete.”

Saints GM Mickey Loomis is going to have to be clever in free agency. New Orleans isn’t working with much money, which means the Saints will have to strike gold on a few cheap starters who outperform their salary. Mustipher fits the description.

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