New Orleans Saints take advantage of new NFL rule with their handling of OT Ryan Ramczyk injury situation

The New Orleans Saints made a tough, but necessary, choice on Thursday afternoon. They made a plethora of roster moves regarding injuries, and Ryan Ramczyk's injury outlook is crystal clear now.

The Saints place star OT Ryan Ramczyk on reserve/PUP list

Players on the Reserve/PUP list must sit out the first four weeks of the regular season. Teams have a following five-week window in which they can allow the player to begin practicing. Then, they have a 21-day window to decide whether to activate him to the 53-man roster.

What makes this the correct move for the Saints?

New Orleans is taking advantage of the new PUP rules. Previously, teams could not place players on the reserve/PUP list before final roster cuts. They are using this new tool to create a spot on the 90-man roster.

Accordingly, the Saints have a bit more room to add depth to their roster. With over $12 million in cap space currently, that aspect is something to watch for a team who believes they will contend in the NFC this season.

Not to mention, keeping Ramczyk around helps their cap situation. If he retired because he may not play another game in the pros, the salary cap implications would decimate the Saints. Thankfully, he will remain with the team.

Losing their best offensive lineman is an awful break for New Orleans, but this choice became the obvious best one over the past few months. Taliese Fuaga slides in as a rookie starter at tackle. Trevor Penning is expected to start at RT for the Saints in 2024.

Also, the Saints placed TE Juwan Johnson, DE Tanoh Kpassagnon, LB Nephi Sewell and DE Chase Young on the physically unable to perform list.

They also put WR Chris Olave on the non-football injury list. Rookie WR Bub Means was taken off of the NFI list.

The Saints have consistently found ways to circumvent the roster and salary cap guidelines in the NFL, and this decision is another example of that.

Related: Saints officially expect the worst regarding status of star player