You mentioned Bates, who are some other 1-year center options? I really haven’t dug into it yet. Linderbaum would be long term, so would McCoy if we traded for him.
Would McCoy be? Only two years left and I don’t think compensation would be extreme.
If we like McLaughlin long term then McCoy makes sense as we have Seth as an injury hedge.
I would looooove that plan. Though I think prying McCoy away from the Saints might be more difficult/expensive than it should be.
Another injured guy! This is Holmes motto
He’s basically free because he’s hurt
That’s the issue. Minus sunk money he is below market by such a significant amount. But if they want to keep Fortner perhaps they’d prefer a 4th or 5th. ![]()
Saints and sunk cost, a tradition as old as their Super Bowl win
So was his injury 14 months ago?
Yes
Yeah, just dont expect him to block Mason Graham. Jesus, that was ugly.
While his tape against Michigan in the 2023 Rose Bowl was very, very bad…I’d like to remind Michigan fans that he did not play for Ohio State against Michigan in 2024 during his Rimington Award season.
Having watched him a ton during both those seasons, he definitely got a lot better at Ohio State.
This is a great get… Backup with starting potential… 25 at the start of the season… Played for Bama and OSU (against the best competition). Zero risk, huge upside.
So in theory he’d be 20 plus months post surgery by next training camp which for an achilles tear often takes 1.5 to 2 years for a full recovery.
Ohhhhhhhh no… I’ve been told by people on this board that Branch could be back by game 1 next season… The internet said so

Oh, he could be, but as a shell of himself.
Can he snap? He had a hard time with that vs Michigan in the Rose bowl.
Yes, he can.
but
That’s what I’m worried about.
he could be, but as a shell of himself.
This is what I’m worried about
I’m hoping he gets back to his best, but it won’t be next year. Just like it was never gonna be this year for Alim.