With Erik McCoy guaranteed to miss at least the next four games, the New Orleans Saints on Wednesday began the process of stabilizing an offensive line that took a significant blow when the Pro Bowl center was injured on the third play of the game in Sunday's 15-12 loss to Philadelphia.
The Saints (2-1) next will face Atlanta (1-2) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
McCoy underwent surgery Wednesday morning to repair his injured groin and was placed on injured reserve. New Orleans signed guard Shane Lemieux to the active roster from the practice squad and added guard Chris Reed to the practice squad.
"We're going to have some other guys step up," Saints Coach Dennis Allen said Wednesday. "That happens in our league. If you just pay attention to the league in general, there was a dozen or more offensive linemen that went down this week.
"Everybody's dealing with it; Atlanta's dealing with it. They lost their starting center (Drew Dalman, placed on injured reserve), we don't know for sure or not if (Falcons tackle Kaleb) McGary (knee, did not practice Wednesday) is fine or not. We'll figure that out probably game time. So everybody's got to be able to adjust and make changes and we'll do that.
"Erik was instrumental in the communication with everything that we're doing up front. Any time you lose a guy like that – who's that smart, does such a great job of communicating and is a good player to go along with that – it makes it tough. But we've got guys we believe in that'll step in and play well in his absence."
Lucas Patrick, who started at left guard against the Eagles and slid to center, is one of the options to start for McCoy.
"It's different and a challenge, but it's something I'm prepared for, and something I'm aware of," Patrick said. "It's something where, like last game, I know if something were to happen to (McCoy), I'm the next man up there and I've got to rely on my snaps in this offense and experience of the scheme, kind of understanding things.
"It may seem more jumbled (to outsiders), but we do plenty of rotating through the week. We do plenty of cross training. It sounds more hectic than it looks, I guess, but I didn't think it felt that hectic.
"Our camp, I had quite a few snaps with (quarterback Derek Carr) and there were days where I played primarily center. So I kind of rely on that and just kind of move forward."
Another option could be Lemieux, which would allow New Orleans to maintain continuity on the left side of the line with Patrick and rookie left tackle Taliese Fuaga.
"This is my first year playing center, so it's been some trial by fire," said Lemieux, a five-year veteran who only had played guard until he signed with the Saints last offseason. "And I've had OTAs and training camp, and now just going out and playing a lot of center.
"So every day I've learned more and more about the position. It's fun. It's a good challenge, a challenge I've always wanted ever since I got into the NFL, and this year I took it really seriously and I've gotten better every single day at it."
Allen said however the lineup settles, he's confident that replacements will handle the load.
"The players that are filling in have to step up and play well, the players around them have to step up and play well," he said. "This is about a team. This is about 11 guys on offense, 11 guys on defense, 11 guys in the kicking game going out and executing their job.
"And we'll have 11 guys out there, and we have confidence and fully expect those guys to go out there and play well."
INJURY REPORT: The Saints' lengthy injury report included right guard Cesar Ruiz (knee), who did not practice Wednesday. Ruiz and McCoy were the only two starters returning to their positions from last season. If Ruiz is unable to play Sunday, guard/tackle Landon Young could be his replacement.
Others who did not practice were cornerback Alontae Taylor (illness), linebacker Demario Davis (hamstring) and running back Alvin Kamara (ribs/hip). Young (foot), defensive tackle Khalen Saunders (calf) and linebacker D'Marco Jackson (calf) were limited, while Carr (left groin) and tight end Taysom Hill (chest) practiced full.
