After 11 years in the NFL, former Saints first-round guard Andrus Peat announced on his Instagram today that he will be hanging up his cleats. The three-time Pro Bowler struggled with injuries throughout his career, but the way he was able to remain rostered and start for nine years in the NFL speaks to his ability, toughness, and determination.
A top-five offensive line recruit in the Class of 2012, Peat had offers from nearly every major program before committing to Stanford. After starting his sophomore and junior seasons for the Cardinal, Peat was taken 13th overall in 2015 by New Orleans. He opened up his rookie year coming off the bench, getting some early starts at both tackle spots as an injury replacement before establishing a full-time starting role at left guard by Week 12 of his first season.
From that point on, Peat served as the Saints’ primary starting left guard. That being said, New Orleans felt comfortable flexing him out to left tackle when needed, and the team frequently did so. Unfortunately for Peat and Saints, just as he was starting to play his best ball, that’s when the injury issues really started to set in. Over the course of his career, Peat never once appeared in every game of a season for his team. Out of a possible 181 career games, Peat appeared in 132, making 106 starts as he returned to a bench role in his final two years.
His three consecutive Pro Bowl seasons saw him play in 13, 10, and 13 games. Peat’s Pro Bowl streak came to an end when he was limited to only six games in 2021. His next year back, Peat improved to play 11 games for the Saints before starting 12 of 16 appearances in his final season in New Orleans. To close out his career, Peat spent a season with the Raiders, starting one of 15 game appearances, and a season with the Steelers.
In Pittsburgh, Peat took over the left tackle job late in the year, but an injury returned him to the bench after three games. Ever the tough customer, Peat returned two weeks later to make appearances in the Steelers’ final three contests of the regular season. It’s hard to argue with the assertion he made in his retirement announcement that he “gave it everything (he) had” as he said his goodbyes to the world of professional football.
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