The New Orleans Saints acted fast to replace recently-retired Pro Bowl center Max Unger, signing free agent Nick Easton. Easton is a 26-year old NFL veteran with starting experience at both guard spots as well as center, which is where the Saints intend to play him. Here’s five quick facts about the newest member of the Saints:
5. Easton played for the Harvard Crimson in college
Photo: Adam Glanzman/Getty ImagesEaston studied economics at Harvard, and was a two-year starter on the football team. He was recognized with All-Ivy League honors in his junior and senior seasons, and was selected for the Academic All-Ivy League team. At his 2015 pro day workout, Easton weighed in at 6-foot-2 3/4, 303 pounds and timed the 40-yard dash in 5.12 seconds. His 1.64-second split at the 10-yard mark is very impressive for someone his size. Easton also cranked out 29 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press, and recorded a 112-inch broad jump.
4. Easton’s NFL career began in Baltimore
Easton was not selected in the 2015 NFL Draft, but the Baltimore Ravens were quick to sign him during the hectic undrafted free agency period. He held his own during training camp and preseason exhibition games, but was ultimately traded to the San Francisco 49ers ahead of final roster cuts. With talented players slated to start at left guard (Kelechi Osemele), right guard (Marshal Yanda), and center (Jeremy Zuttah) with a respected backup in place (John Urschel), there simply wasn’t room for Easton on the Ravens’ roster.
3. Easton’s career with the 49ers lasted just a month
The 49ers traded a conditional seventh round draft pick to the Ravens to acquire Easton, who got on the field in their final preseason game and made a few appearances in the opening weeks of the 2015 season. But he ended up getting traded again just a month later, with the Vikings exchanging linebacker Gerald Hodges and a sixth round pick in the following year’s draft for Easton’s services. Easton didn’t get to play for the Vikings until another year had passed, when starting center Joe Berger was concussed. He won the starting job at left guard in 2017 and held it down all year, until an ankle injury sidelined him in the final weeks.
2. Injuries followed Easton into the 2018 season
Easton hoped to bounce back from his 2017 ankle fracture, and by all accounts handled the surgery and resulting rehab well. But he encountered further trouble midway through August training camp in 2018, landing on injured reserve with a neck injury. The details of this injury have never come to light — it occurred before teams were required to provide daily injury reports — but he would not have been able to sign with the Saints without a clean bill of health. So the narrative surrounding Easton should not be that he’s injury prone; the guy simply had a brief streak of bad luck.
1. The Saints signed Easton to a four-year, $24 million contract
$6 million per year is a lot of money to budget for an offensive lineman, particularly one with just 23 career starts to his name. But fans should not get worked up about this contract until more details are reported, specifically the contractual guarantees. It’s highly unlikely that the Saints guaranteed more than half the contract at the time of signing, so if things don’t go smoothly for Easton in New Orleans, the team has likely built themselves an eject button. That said, let’s look at the positives: the Saints signed a better option than they had on the roster already and moved quickly to replace Max Unger. They’re continuing to be proactive in free agency.
