5 no brainer internal moves that I anticipate the Saints making this offseason to prepare for free agency

Good afternoon who dats and happy Valentine's day!!!

This will be my first ever thread after lurking here for over a decade so please take it easy on me.

I wanted to help give other Saints fans an idea of how we might see the roster manipulated in the next month or so in preparation for free agency. As the title mentions, I think you can expect these 5 moves to occur, and want to give you an idea of where we may be cap wise in it's wake. These are my opinions alone, no regurgitated crap that came from some podcast or a blogger on the internet. I enjoy the start of a new league year as much as the games themselves. The roster manipulations, the salary dumps, and the rumor mill that's connected to the big prized free agents.

The Saints are sitting in the $12M range in terms of their current cap space. I know some sites may differ, but I will be using the salary information provided by Spotrac.com to explain the moves and the financials that go with it.

With that said, let's get into it!!

1. Restructure Michael Thomas

This is the biggest no brainer of the offseason. We will be doing this with at least one other player this offseason. Simply put, you are pushing the guarantees of the players contract down the road for financial flexibility now. This is a move that you only want to do if you feel confident that the player can be effective at the end of the contract. If you feel confident that the player will be, then this is an easy move. If you have concerns about a players age or ability to stay healthy (Armstead) then you try to hold off on doing this with your larger salaried players.

Financial impact: The Saints would clear roughly $8.2M in cap space, and put them at around $20.2M in total space.

2. Release Janoris Jenkins

This also feels like a given to me. We needed what he gave us last year, but we we're never going to pay him $11.25M in 2020 to be our number 2 CB. We will need to address that position at some point, but the free agent market is very juicy at this position. We will have a lot of options if we deem it a necessary position to address in free agency.

Financial impact: Jenkins has zero dead money on his deal. He will cost us nothing to release, which I'm sure played a role in us acquiring him during the season. His release will free up $11.25M leaving us at roughly $31.45M in total space.

3. Release Kiko Alonso

Unfortunately, Kiko got hurt at the worse possible time. He will not be ready to play at any point through the first 12 weeks of the 2020 season. His contract also dictates this as he has approximately $850K in dead cap charges if released. That's not a big number. Alonso really helped us last year at a position of need, but be prepared to say adios, nice to have known ya'!!

Financial impact: This move would free up around $7.825M and leave us with about $38.7M in total cap space.

4. Restructure Terron Armstead

I mentioned earlier why this could be a dangerous move, however, let me tell you why it makes perfect sense. Terron only has 2 years left on his deal, so your essentially guaranteeing his 2021 season by restructuring his deal. If Armstead we're to get hurt and miss say 7 games next year, would you anticipate the Saints cutting him this time next year? I say no way!! If you agree with that then you should be all for it.

Financial impact: This move would free up around $4.9M and put us around $43.6M in total cap space.

5. Trade Sheldon Rankins

This might be where you disagree with me, but as the great singer Bryson Tiller would say... Let me explain. I like Rankins a lot, but I feel he is a luxury not a necessity. A good 3-technique can really help a defense, but I feel like we have other options at the position especially if we bring back Onyemata. He would surely be a more affordable contract then what it would cost on Sheldon's 5th year option for 2020, and a long term contract after that (not to mention putting a tag on him for 2021). Also, I feel like we could get our 2nd round pick back in a trade.

Financial impact: Sheldon's fifth year option has no dead cap tied to it. His trade would free up the whole $7.7M he is scheduled to make in 2020. This would leave us around $51.3M in cap space.

So please let me know your thoughts on these possible moves and any others you would like to see the Saints make prior to the new league year. Again, take it easy on me as this again is my first thread ever!! I'd like to create another one on how I would utilize the $50M+ in space. We obviously have a lot of free agents I'd like to retain and a 41 year old future Hall Of Fame QB to fairly compensate. I am also aware that a trade would have to wait until after the new league year begins, but wanted to include it here as a move that still would impact our offseason. So I hope you enjoyed this... Now go buy your significant other some chocolate covered strawberries and a blank card with your heart-felt words explaining what they mean to you. Peace
Ummm, Rankins was best defensive player on team 2 years ago. This year, of course, was Davis. The day Rankins and Davenport went out this year was the beginning of the end for Saints. No way I would let him go .