How Re-Signing This Guard Will Affect the Saints This Coming Season
When you cheer for your favorite football team throughout the season, you will likely also cheer for a specific player. You probably own a jersey with his number and last name, which you wear as your "uniform" or good-luck charm while watching him play on Sunday. You look forward to seeing that same player return on the screen week after week, even if only for a quarter. When the season concludes, you keep up with his activities in the off-season, such as supplementing his income with another occupation until he returns to training camp. If your favorite New Orleans Saints player is G Shane Lemieux and you own a replica of his jersey, feel free to wash it or take it to your nearest dry cleaner. As of this week, he will be returning to New Orleans for next season.
For those Saints fans who are looking for a new player to keep track of after the recently announced retirements of Jimmy Graham and Tyrann Mathieu, here is a brief introduction to an offensive lineman whose NFL career began as the 150th overall pick in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL draft by the New York Giants. He played his first game in November as a left guard, replacing Will Hernandez, who had tested positive for COVID-19. Shane would play another 11 games, and eight of those in the starting position throughout the season. Due to injuries, his 2021 and 2022 seasons on the field would be limited to one game each while he recovered from injuries to his left knee and toe. In 2023, Lemieux would be limited to four games due to a biceps injury in October of that year. Toward the end of April 2024, he would be signed with the Saints and then placed on their active roster about five months later. During his initial season in New Orleans, Lemieux would start as a guard in four out of seven games.
Regardless of the injuries that have kept Shane on the sidelines, the Saints' coaching staff is confident that he can make a contribution to the Saints for another season. At 28 years old, Shane will continue to easily fit alongside the age range of the team's recent additions. Perhaps he is part of the "long-term plan" for the team, in which they will resign players who are still capable in their positions. Hopefully, Lemieux can remain healthy enough to be seen every upcoming Sunday and add to his career statistics. If he isn't seen on the field with the offensive line, maybe he is also regarded as a consultant who can advise the team's other centers and guards due to his knowledge of both positions.
