METAIRIE ― When the Saints picked up Bobby McCray in the offseason, the thought was to mostly bolster a bookend set that included Charles Grant and Will Smith, two of the higher-paid ends in the NFL.

At no time though could the organization have foreseen how much picking up a veteran defensive end would aid the team.

Photo by Alex Brandon / The Associated Press

New Orleans' Charles Grant will miss the rest of the season after tearing his left triceps. Bobby McCray and Jeff Charleston will fill in for the defensive end.

Charles Grant was placed on Injured Reserve on Monday after tearing his left triceps. That leaves New Orleans (4-4) with only three defensive ends on the active roster heading into Sunday’s game at Atlanta (5-3).

McCray, a pass-rush specialist, will move into Grant’s starting slot.

“He’s a guy we certainly have confidence in,” Saints head coach Sean Payton said. “We believe that it’s important to get a rotation and that was one of the main reasons that we signed him – really to help the efficiency of the group in general.”

The former Jacksonville Jaguar won’t be alone in trying to fill the void left by Grant. Recently acquired end Jeff Charleston will have to step up and put in valuable snaps.

“Jeff Charleston is another guy that will factor in and will have to take snaps and will have to be ready to do that,” Payton said. “In Bobby’s case, he has experience and it won’t just be nickel snaps now; it will be snaps in the base as well as the nickel.”

Said Charleston, “Right now I’m a contributor on special teams. With Charles out, I’ll be getting more reps at defensive end. When someone needs a break or as soon as I’m rotated in, I need to cause pressure and get sacks.”

New Orleans signed Charleston originally Oct. 8 before waiving him Oct. 11. The team picked him up for good on Oct. 14.

He played in Indianapolis a year ago, playing in 13 games in which he started three. He finished the season with 24 tackles, a sack and three passes defended.

Missing Grant isn’t a good thing on a defense that already ranks below average in the NFL in most defensive categories. He and McCray are tied for the team lead with three sacks apiece.

The Saints are 24th in the league, allowing 346.4 yards per game. They’re 25th in passing yards allowed at 237.2. And they’re 18th in allowing 109.1 rushing yards per game.

“We lost a great soldier,” McCray said. “It’s unfortunate. But we’ve got to be able to bounce back and keep going.”

It’s not like New Orleans isn’t used to playing without players – at least 15 players have missed at least one game because of injury or suspension.

The Saints also are deep at defensive tackle, employing Hollis Thomas, Sedrick Ellis, Antwan Lake, Kendrick Clancy, Remi Ayodele and Brian Young. It’s possible for one to move out and play a few plays at end.

But the bulk of the work will fall to McCray, Will Smith and Charleston.

“We’re a little heavy at tackle, but at the end position, I think Jeff will bring depth for us and we still have Josh (Savage) on the practice squad who has played for us.”

Bradley Handwerger can be reached at bhandwerger@wwltv.com