New Orleans Saints’ Strief’s Future Unclear

Earlier this week reports started surfacing like this one from the Louisiana Radio Network around New Orleans Saint Zach Strief:

"The NFL Network reports Saints right tackle Zach Strief plans to retire after 12 seasons. Strief finished the 2017 season on injured reserve with an injured knee."

However today it sounds like that may not be an automatic conclusion. It sounds more like Strief is thinking about it, but hasn't made any decisions. WWL Sports Director Kristian Garic recently spoke about this with Strief:

Now it sounds like the report of his retirement started from within the Saints organization. Which could be an interesting twist, because New Orleans could save $2.775 million on their salary cap if Strief walks away. But the team could also benefit from having Strief on the bench, with both veteran leadership and as a great injury replacement. But does the team place that much value on that role?