Saints Sign C Billy Price

The Saints aren’t done making moves on offense. After adding a pair of pass-catchers earlier today, the team has now added an offensive lineman. The team announced that they’ve signed veteran offensive lineman Billy Price.

[RELATED: Saints Sign WRs Keke Coutee, Lynn Bowden]

Price was a first-round pick by the Bengals back in 2018. The lineman missed a chunk of his rookie season due to a foot injury, but he otherwise started all 10 of his appearances. After that, he found himself in and out of Cincy’s lineup. Price started 10 of his 16 appearances during the 2019 campaign, and he started only one of his 16 games in 2020 (while appearing in a career-low 207 offensive snaps).

The lineman had his fifth-year option declined before getting dealt to the Giants for the 2021 season. He started 15 of his 16 appearances in New York, but he still had to settle for a practice squad gig with the Raiders to begin the 2022 campaign. He eventually caught on with the Cardinals and proceeded to start all 11 of his appearances for his new squad. Pro Football Focus didn’t love his performance in Arizona, grading him as the 35th center among 36 qualified players.

Price didn’t grade much better at his previous stops, but he’ll still provide New Orleans with some experience at the position. Per Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com (via Twitter), the Saints have been hunting around for some reinforcement at center. Erik McCoy has a firm hold of the starting center gig, but the lineman has missed nine games over the past two seasons. If McCoy goes down again (and if the team hopes to keep Cesar Ruiz permanently at guard), then they’d be looking at UDFA Alex Pihlstrom as their only option at center.

Earlier today, the team added Keke Coutee and Lynn Bowden to their squad. The team also cut wideout Malik Flowers, running backSaRodorick Thompson, and offensive lineman Yasir Durant.