- May 21, 2026
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Saints center Erik McCoy has missed more games than he's played over the last two seasons.
McCoy missed 10 games in 2024 with elbow and groin injuries before missing another 10 last season with a torn biceps. That's left a hole at a key spot on the New Orleans line too often, but McCoy does not believe that there's much he can do beyond hoping for better fortune in 2026.
McCoy said he'll do anything he can to lessen injury risk, but that "the play where I tore my bicep was something I’ve done a million times" to illustrate that injuries in the NFL come down to the "luck of the draw" more than anything else. Given that feeling, McCoy said he won't alter his playing style in hopes of being on the field more often.
“There’s always going to be an awareness, but you can’t play with an awareness, you know what I mean?” McCoy said, via Luke Johnson of NOLA.com. “It’s kind of just got to be reckless abandon, and whatever happens happens. I’m going to keep that same mentality. I don’t want to be a guy that plays timid, that plays soft, that plays afraid to get hurt. If I play like that, I should quit football.”
McCoy went to the Pro Bowl after starting all 17 games in 2023. The Saints would welcome a reprise on both fronts in 2026.
McCoy missed 10 games in 2024 with elbow and groin injuries before missing another 10 last season with a torn biceps. That's left a hole at a key spot on the New Orleans line too often, but McCoy does not believe that there's much he can do beyond hoping for better fortune in 2026.
McCoy said he'll do anything he can to lessen injury risk, but that "the play where I tore my bicep was something I’ve done a million times" to illustrate that injuries in the NFL come down to the "luck of the draw" more than anything else. Given that feeling, McCoy said he won't alter his playing style in hopes of being on the field more often.
“There’s always going to be an awareness, but you can’t play with an awareness, you know what I mean?” McCoy said, via Luke Johnson of NOLA.com. “It’s kind of just got to be reckless abandon, and whatever happens happens. I’m going to keep that same mentality. I don’t want to be a guy that plays timid, that plays soft, that plays afraid to get hurt. If I play like that, I should quit football.”
McCoy went to the Pro Bowl after starting all 17 games in 2023. The Saints would welcome a reprise on both fronts in 2026.