The New Orleans Saints made one of their biggest offseason moves on the even of free agency, and it had nothing to do with a big-name signing.
The team and veteran Ryan Ramczyk have agreed to a reworked contract that will clear a significant amount of cap space for the 2024 season, and also give the team flexibility as they navigate concerns over the 29-year-old RT's health down the line.
The reworked deal should clear roughly $14 million in cap space this offseason, according to a report from NewOrleans.football. Ramczyk's base salary will drop to the veteran minimum for 2024, and his contract will include incentives in the 2025 season that will allow him to recoup a significant portion of his deal. Ramczyk is the third veteran player that agreed to reworked deals this offseason, along with Demario Davis and Tyrann Mathieu, that generated more cap space than a standard restructure would've allowed for. Davis and Mathieu had their deals extended by one year.
Ramczyk's new deal does not clear up the murkiness surrounding the status of his balky left knee, but it does provide some clarity for what the team will be on the hook for if it severely limits his career or ends it prematurely. Ramczyk has been managing the knee issue for multiple seasons and it's what forced him to miss the final three games of the 2023 season. Head coach Dennis Allen did offer some confident messaging when he spoke to reporters at the NFL combine, indicating that he underwent a minor surgical procedure this offseason to clean up the knee. Ramczyk has appeared in 101 games for the Saints since he was selected No. 32 overall in 2017.
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“I think Ryan is getting better … he’s got a knee that he and we are gonna have to manage," Allen said at the time, "but we feel much better about where he’s at today than where he was, maybe a month, month and a half ago.”
After beginning the offseason with the need to clear more than $80 million in salary cap overages, the Saints have now done that with room to spare just shy of the deadline. They got to that point through a series of expected restructures, several of which include core veterans that include Derek Carr and Cam Jordan, along with established younger pieces such as Erik McCoy, Carl Granderson and Cesar Ruiz. The Saints did not restructure the contracts for RB Alvin Kamara or QB/TE Taysom Hill, but retain the flexibility to do so should they need additional cap space to land a free agent.
The Saints are also expected to move on from Michael Thomas as a post-June 1 cut, and have terminated the contract for safety Marcus Maye. There are also rumblings that the team could have interest in trading star cornerback Marshon Lattimore this offseason, but due to cap implications, it's unlikely that any move would occur prior to June 1.
The NFL's legal tampering period began on Monday with little action from the Saints, but they did make a splash in the shallow end of the pool by agreeing to terms on a 1-year deal with former Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay, which was reported to be worth a maximum of $5 million. The Saints also agreed to a deal with fullback Zander Horvath prior to the start of free agency. The Saints have also seen several of their own free agents head elsewhere, including LB Zack Baun (Eagles), QB Jameis Winston (Browns), DT Malcolm Roach (Broncos) and S Lonnie Johnson Jr. (Texans). Free agent deals can not become official until Wednesday.
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The moves equate to the Saints entering free agency with $15 million in cap space available, though that will be offset by Gay's deal. Who will they target? That could include names at positions of need like slot corner and defensive end, two positions the Saints have already had visits reported by free agent names like Avonte Maddox and Chase Young.
New Orleans is coming off a 9-8 season, the second with Allen at head coach, and will be hoping to take another step forward for their first playoff appearance since 2020 in an NFC South that still appears as wide open as ever, despite the Falcons and Bucs locking in Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield, respectively, with high-priced contracts.