Sean Payton offered quite the scouting report on new New Orleans Saints guard Larry Warford:
“We liked him a lot. We think he’s got ass and mass,” Payton said of the 6-foot-3, 317-pounder, who spent his first four seasons with the Detroit Lions.
“We use that term, ‘Ass and mass, kick ass.’ That’s important. We think that pocket will be important. He’s a hard worker,” Payton said during his media session Wednesday morning at the NFL meetings in Arizona, adding that Saints quarterbacks coach Joe Lombardi worked with Warford as the Lions’ former offensive coordinator and that Warford has long trained with former Saints offensive lineman LeCharles Bentley.
“We felt like we knew this player well,” Payton said.
Payton said Warford will play right guard, which isn’t a surprise since the 25-year-old played right guard in Detroit – and that’s where the Saints had a need with longtime starter Jahri Evans now 33 years old and an unsigned free agent.
The Saints spent more on Warford than any other free agent this year – a four-year, $34 million contract – which continues their history of investing more heavily in the interior offensive line than most teams. They once made Evans the highest-paid guard in NFL history (at $8.1 million per year in 2010). And they recently signed center Max Unger to a three-year extension worth $7.4 million per year.
The Saints were also in the mix for free agent guard Kevin Zeitler, who wound up signing with the Cleveland Browns for $12 million per year.
The Saints initially cut Evans last February before re-signing him in September when they couldn't find a better alternative. And Evans had a nice bounce-back season while staying healthy for a full 16 games.
When asked why the Saints chose this offseason to make their big investment in Evans' replacement, Payton said, "The right guy."
Payton also confirmed that the Saints plan to keep Andrus Peat as their left guard. Peat, a first-round pick in 2015, played his best football on the left side of the line at both tackle and guard last year after the Saints tried him in a variety of positions during his first year and a half.