When Saints center Max Unger suffered a foot injury in May, the expectation was that he’d miss the opening of the 2017 season. It doesn’t appear that will happen, though, as Unger passed a physical on Thursday and is now eligible to come off the active/physically unable to perform list, Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com tweets.
Going without Unger to begin the year would’ve left the Saints sans two of their best offensive linemen at the outset of the campaign. As it stands, the club will have to make do without left tackle Terron Armstead, who suffered a torn labrum in June, until sometime in the fall. Armstead also sat out nine games last year on account of knee and quad issues.
Injuries have been problematic for Unger, too, as the 31-year-old has missed 30 of 128 regular-season games since the Seahawks chose him in the second round of the 2009 draft. Seattle dealt the two-time Pro Bowler and a fourth-round pick to New Orleans for tight end Jimmy Graham and a first-rounder in 2015, and the lineman has been a dependable pivot for the Saints during his two years with the club. Unger has appeared in 31 of a possible 32 contests with the Saints, all starts, and is coming off a year in which he ranked 14th among Pro Football Focus’ 72 qualified centers in overall performance.