Drew Brees Calls Terron Armstead's Injury a 'Big Blow'

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees didn't hold back when assessing the potential of losing left tackle Terron Armstead to injury for most of the upcoming season. 

"Listen, that's a big blow," he said Tuesday, per Larry Holder of The Times-Picayune. "I'm not going to lie."

Holder noted Armstead suffered a torn labrum in his shoulder and is expected to miss four to six months.

Armstead's minicamp injury comes after he dealt with knee, hip and quad concerns the past couple of years. He played just seven games in 2016 and 13 in 2015, and Brees addressed his comeback effort in light of this latest setback.

"He worked so hard to come back and to have something like that with a freaky injury, I'm really saddened for him and for our team," the signal-caller said. "He plays a huge role. We always find ways and we have to have these young guys step up. We don't know exactly how that shakes things up."

According to Holder, veteran Khalif Barnes has worked with the first unit for the majority of the time since Armstead went down. However, New Orleans also has rookie Ryan Ramczyk—who it drafted with the No. 32 overall pick from Wisconsin—as another option.

The Saints offensive line proved it can play without a fully healthy Armstead last year when they finished as the best run-blocking unit and fifth-best pass-blocking unit in the league, per Football Outsiders.

Replicating that performance in 2017 would help soften the "big blow" Brees described.