So it begins. The New Orleans Saints have begun ticking down their salary cap overages, and two of the biggest names have come off the list first.
As expected, the Saints restructured Derek Carr's contract this week, according to a report from ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, a move that represents roughly $23 million saved against the cap in 2024.
It's a move that felt inevitable, with the team needing to clear roughly $81 million from its 2024 ledger by the start of the league year to be cap compliant. Carr's deal represented the greatest potential savings, though the decision pushes out guaranteed money and effectively ties the team to the veteran for two more seasons before they could potentially get out from the deal with reasonable costs. The Saints have affirmed their commitment to Carr multiple times this offseason and have rebuilt the offensive staff under new OC Klint Kubiak.
Earlier this offseason I created a road map to clear the cap overages without adjusting some high-risk contracts. Carr's name was on the list, as was center Erik McCoy, who had his deal restructured earlier in the week, according to a report from Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, in a move that cleared just over $7.1 million.
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It's likely the Saints continue to walk down the cap with restructures to clear significant space, which would include LB Demario Davis ($8M), DE Cam Jordan ($9.4M), S Tyrann Mathieu ($5.8M), QB Taysom Hill ($6.5M) and DE Carl Granderson ($7.2M). The biggest wild card will come in the form of RT Ryan Ramczyk, who represents the second-largest potential cap savings of any player ($11.8M), but also has significant questions regarding his playing outlook due to a progressive knee issue that ended his season early in 2023. The Saints also could look to avoid restructuring Alvin Kamara, who at 29 years old is at an inflection point for the RB position where returns tend to decline quickly. Staying away from a restructure this season would allow the Saints more flexibility in 2025 and beyond, should they decide to look elsewhere.
With the two restructures on the books the Saints have cleared just over $30 million, and still have significant work to get the rest of the way, but plenty of triggers to get there. The Saints must be cap compliant by the first day of the new league year on March 13.