Ryan Ramczyk didn't play a down for the New Orleans Saints this season, but his final move in the NFL will still help the team next year.
Ramczyk has reduced his base salary for the upcoming season down to the league's minimum, according to reports, a common sign that a player is planning to retire in the near future.
Handling things this way means the restructured deal frees up more than $16 million against the Saints' immediate salary cap overage. The Saints will still have to navigate a dead cap hit starting in 2025 when the retirement is officially processed, most likely after June 1.
The Saints still sit in the range of $50 million over the 2025 salary cap and will have to clear that space using a variety of measures, including restructured deals to shift more cap burden down the line. The biggest name in that conversation will be Derek Carr, whose contract could be restructured to clear up to $30.9 million against the cap in 2025.
Ramczyk's move mirrors what former Saints players Drew Brees and Malcolm Jenkins did immediately prior to their respective retirements. The former first-round pick was a stalwart along the Saints' defensive line since 2017, helping to lead a stout group bookended by Terron Armstead for much of that time. Ramczyk started at least 15 games in each of his first four seasons and was named All Pro three times.
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Things began to go south for the former Wisconsin standout when he suffered a knee injury in 2021 that limited him to 10 games. The Saints worked in liberal rest for Ramczyk over the next two seasons, but he ultimately had to end his season early in 2023 due to knee issues. Ramczyk spoke late in that year and indicated that the issues were significant and could be career ending.
The RT's availability was a major question throughout the past offseason, but with the injury not progressing as hoped the 30-year-old ended up on the PUP list. He was on the sideline for at least one Saints game this year with his family, and had shed significant weight from the 314-pound stature he's still listed at on the Saints roster.
Ramczyk was at the facility the team facility this week as the team wrapped up their season.
Trevor Penning shifted to the right side in the 2026 season, with rookie Taliese Fuaga manning the left tackle spot. Penning and Fuaga started in all 17 games and it'll now be on the Saints to assess whether they want to continue with that platoon in 2025 and beyond. Penning, another first-round pick, is under contract for one more season, though the Saints could opt to exercise a 5th-year team option should they want to commit to Penning for two more seasons.