Ryan's hope: The latest on Ramczyk

Happy Friday, and welcome to the Saints Insider newsletter for Dec. 28.

We are two days away from what is a do-or-die game for the New Orleans Saints when they travel to Tampa to play the Buccaneers. If the Saints win, their playoff hopes remain alive. If they don’t, their playoff chances are over.

Here’s our coverage from Thursday.

Ryan’s Hope

Saints’ right tackle Ryan Ramczyk has been plagued with a nagging knee injury for the past few seasons. What does it mean for his future? Will it require surgery this offseason? Those are some of the questions Ramczyk will have to get answered once the season is over. Beat writer Matthew Paras spoke with Ramczyk about his future. Read what Ramczyk had to say here.

Carr talk

Derek Carr’s first season in New Orleans has had its share of up and downs. Carr, in his weekly exclusive interview with The Times-Picayune, talks about what this first season has been like for him. He also discusses what Christmas was like. Here’s the exclusive Carr interview.

Tackling woes

The Saints have lost their last three games to the Buccaneers. Can they snap that streak? That very well could depend on how well the Saints tackle. That’s been an issue for the team. It’s late in the season, but they need to fix it.

Closer to Canton

Former Saints’ offensive lineman Jahri Evans received some good news this week. He’s a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Columnist Jeff Duncan writes about Evans being a finalist for the 2024 class.

That’s all for today. Make sure to go to nola.com for updates throughout the day. Also, it’s Friday. That means we will be recording another Saints Insider Podcast today. Check out and subscribe to our YouTube channel as we break down Sunday’s matchup at Raymond James Stadium.

Have a great weekend.

Rod Walker