The New Orleans Saints' relationship with the salary cap is kind of like watching the tide rise on a beach: We know it'll get there eventually, it's just a matter of when and how far.
And that annual dollar purge has begun in recent weeks with a handful of move to cut into the roughly $60 million over the cap the team found themselves at entering the offseason. While it's an imposing number, it's actually lower than what the team faced in the past several seasons, each of which they reached without significant difficulty through restructures and extensions.
The biggest cap purge came in the 2021 season when the team had to dump $110 million in salary prior to the season due to the unexpected cap implications of COVID and a byproduct of the final few go-for-broke seasons with Drew Brees. In the years since the Saints have been more judicious with their restructures and signings, and GM Mickey Loomis has expressed the desire to "manage it back to the middle" so the process will not be as intensive every offseason.
That goal, of course, always feels dependent on the QB position. The Saints were all-in on attempting to acquire Deshaun Watson last year, full well knowing they'd have to commit to a major deal. The same appears true for Derek Carr this season if he chooses them in free agency. That's certainly not managing back to the middle, but it's worth it should the option for a win-now QB walk through the door. If so, it's not just reaching cap compliance, but also establishing how much can be cleared beyond that.
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As of Thursday, according to OverTheCap, the Saints sit $38 million over the cap, already a significant chunk closer than they were a few weeks ago after a handful of moves. They still have about $67 million in simple restructure potential, meaning they could clear that space without extending any of the deals currently on the books. They could create an additional $10 million in space with some more complex restructuring.
Scroll below for the moves they've made, and the options available to them going forward (all figures via Spotrac unless otherwise noted):
RESTRUCTURES/CONVERSIONS COMPLETED ($24.7M)
S, Marcus Maye
- $6.07M of base salary converted to signing bonus
- Cap savings in 2023: $4.86M
C, Erik McCoy
- Converted $10M roster bonus into signing bonus
- Cap savings in 2023: $8M
RT, Ryan Ramczyk
- Converted $12.92M of base salary into bonus (report)
- Cap savings in 2023: $10.34M
K, Wil Lutz
- Reduced salary by $1.5M; incentive escalators added (report)
- 2023 cap savings: $1.5M
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RESTRUCTURE OPTIONS REMAINING ($35.56M over 2023 cap)
(Figures via OverTheCap)
DE, Cam Jordan
- Potential restructure savings (2023): $10M
CB, Marshon Lattimore
- Potential restructure savings (2023): $10.06M
QB, Jameis Winston
- Potential restructure savings (2023): $8.7M
- Cut/trade post-June 1: $12.8M ($2.8M in dead money)
G, Andrus Peat
- Potential restructure savings (2023): $7.9M
RB, Alvin Kamara
- Potential restructure savings (2023): $7.06M
- Trade post-June 1: $10.9M ($5M in dead money)
TE, Taysom Hill
- Potential restructure savings (2023): $6.6M
- Trade post-June 1: $9.9M ($4M in dead money)
LB, Demario Davis
- Potential restructure savings (2023): $5.87M
S, Tyrann Mathieu
- Potential restructure savings (2023): $4.37M
- Trade post-June 1: $7M ($1.9M in dead money)
LT, James Hurst
- Potential restructure savings (2023): $3.2M
- Trade/cut post-June 1: $5.5M ($1.9M in dead money)
NOTE: Only contracts worth more than $2M annually are listed above, and cut/trade figures are only listed if the cap savings are at least 2X the dead money left behind.
As always, the reaction to the Saints' salary cap project as a dire situation are overblown. For example, one simple route to get to compliance (clearing another $36M) WITHOUT cutting or trading anyone would include five more steps.
- Restructure Cam Jordan: $10M saved in 2023
- Restructure Marshon Lattimore: $10M saved in 2023
- Restructure Taysom Hill: $6.6M saved in 2023
- Restructure Demario Davis: $5.87M saved in 2023
- Restructure Tyrann Mathieu: $4.37M saved in 2023
DING DING DING ... cap compliance achieved.
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That is far from the only option, but it feels the most likely considering all five of those players are expected to be on the roster next season and possibly beyond. Space can also be cleared, and will have to be in order to sign players, with trades or cuts, though with different calculations.
Now, all these restructures don't come without costs. Dead money is added down the line and that becomes a hurdle to navigate in the future. For example, in the 2023 season the Saints will lose about $5M to dead cap charges, the most significant coming with $3.95M earmarked for retired safety Malcolm Jenkins. But that's all part of the calculation.
The Saints do this every year, if you don't expect it by now, it's because you haven't been paying attention.
This post will be updated as moves are made.