Former Florence High School standout Chandler Brewer returned to the NFL on Saturday with the New Orleans Saints.
The Saints announced their signing of the offensive tackle while waiving guard Nouri Nouili, an undrafted rookie from Nebraska.
Brewer joins New Orleans’ training-camp roster after offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk went on reserve/physically unable to perform on July 18, effectively ending his chances of playing for the Saints this season. Ramczyk had offseason knee surgery.
Chandler was available after the Jacksonville Jaguars released him on July 16. He had been placed on injured reserve on June 14.
Brewer spent most of last season on the Jaguars’ practice squad, but he did make one regular-season appearance. He had re-signed with Jacksonville on Jan. 8.
Brewer has been in the NFL since 2019, when he made the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted rookie. He played in seven games in 2019 and six games, with four starts, in 2022.
Brewer opted out of the 2020 season under the NFL’s plan to play during the coronavirus pandemic. He was on the Rams’ practice squad during the 2021 season, which ended when Los Angelesdefeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in Super Bowl LVI.
At Florence High School, Brewer was an All-State second-team selection as a senior for the Falcons’ 6A Region 8 championship team, which reached the AHSAA semifinals before falling to eventual state champion Clay-Chalkville in 2014.
At Middle Tennessee, Brewer was a four-year starter. He earned All-Conference USA recognition as the Blue Raiders’ right guard in 2018 even though he underwent radiation treatments for six weeks during the season after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The Saints start their three-game preseason schedule on Aug. 10 against the Arizona Cardinals and kick off their regular-season slate on Sept. 8 against the Carolina Panthers.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
