New Orleans Saints Forums - blackandgold.com - NOLA.com New Orleans Saints offensive tackle Charles Brown aware that he needs to stay healthy

When the New Orleans Saints' first-team offense broke the huddle for the team portion of Tuesday's minicamp practice, fourth-year offensive tackle Charles Brown lined up at left tackle.

That little tidbit could constitute as big news for the often-injured Brown, who is in the midst of a three-man competition with free-agent signee Jason Smith and rookie third-round pick Terron Armstead for the starting position.

Brown, a former second-round pick, missed a portion of the first week of the Saints' organized team activities after injuring his back while pulling a sled during a workout session.

Brown is healthy now. But that setback followed a familiar pattern of him showing flashes of his abilities, only to have those glimpses be followed by stints on the injury report.
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In fact, during the NFL owners meeting in March, Saints Coach Sean Payton said Brown needed to make sure he was "available" before for the Saints could count on him to replace Jermon Bushrod, who signed with the Chicago Bears this offseason, at left tackle.

After Tuesday's workout, Saints offensive line coach Bret Ingalls reiterated Payton's message.

"He has a lot of experience," Ingalls said of Brown. "He has some good video out there and has proven he can be efficient in this league and play that position. But like Sean said, he needs to be available. He needs to be able to train and needs to be able to practice and do that year round.

"We can't have setbacks, because he needs to continue to develop. But we like him. But he needs to be available. That's a constant message, a constant message."

Brown knows this. He has heard it all before.

Last season, he appeared to be turning the corner while filling in nicely for an injured Zach Strief during a three-game stretch in the middle of the season. Then Brown sustained another season-ending injury during his third start in Oakland, marking the second time in three seasons Brown ended the season on injured reserve.

"They don't need to keep telling me that," Brown said. "But I know that every day I'm not out there I'm not helping, so I need to get out there."

Brown showed no effects from the back injury during drills. Although the players weren't in pads and there was no hitting, Brown appeared to move well.

If he remains healthy, he clearly has an advantage over Smith and Armstead, who left Tuesday's practice with an unspecified injury, because the two newcomers aren't nearly as familiar with the intricacies of the Saints' offense.

"I got to put some stuff on film so now I can correct it and see where I need to get better," Brown said of Tuesday's practice. "This speeds up the process and I can get rolling to get where I need to be."

Payton agreed.

"It's important with the snaps that he's able to get as many snaps as he can, especially mentally just being out there with the protections and the different looks we are getting from our defense," Payton said.

Although he is healthy, Brown won't continue to get all the reps with the first-team offense.

The plan is to continue to rotate the players with the starting units throughout the offseason workouts.

Ingalls said the rotation is good for the competition.

"We really feel good about who the guys are," Ingalls said. "In their own way, they all have some traits we like. Charles Brown has been here the longest. We just need for him to practice every day so we can evaluate and decide if he is the next guy to play that position.

"Terron Armstead has done a good job as a rookie ... so has Jason Smith, who has come in and is learning our system. The nice thing is that they are all talented enough and could be the starter. So we have been rotated them and we are going to continue to rotate them. I don't think the real evaluation starts until you get pads on."

Again, Brown understands this. That's why Tuesday was so important. It marked a practice in which he was healthy enough to participate and show the coaches he has the skills to win the job.

"Ever rep I can get back, I'm looking forward to it," Brown said.

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