Saints Cap Moves: $28,318,521 cap space ….. 8 restructures, 3 extensions, 3 pay cut, 1 release [All current cap moves are in OP]

[44slayer]

Carr has had 11 years to focus on winning. He realized since it can’t be about winning, it has to be about money. Every move he makes is about money. Good for him, bad for a fanbase that would like to win. But even he knows he can’t sell another team on winning - because he is nearly a full season under .500 as a starter with 0 playoff wins. So he stayed with the team that he already had the money part hammered out.

 

[No2DC]

If Carr wanted out, he could have forced it really easily and done things to make it work under the Saints cap. It's not like Carr cares about bad press. If he did, he would stop acting like Derek Carr.

He knew he wasn't going to find another sucker like us, this is his last starter contract. His next stop will be as a bridge or backup. I really wish Mick would get into the game and draft a quarterback high in the next couple of years.

 

[Rouxble]

True, but he knew the Raiders were going to cut him so he would be a free agent. So anything he did would be to the Raiders advantage and not his. Here he knew that the Saints were not going to cut him due to the cap hit and Moore wanting him to stay. But, there could have been some advantages to him if he could get another team to give him a longer term contract with more or the same money. Geno Smith is reportedly about to get $40 or $45 million per year from the Raiders. That probably boosted what he would take to stay with the Saints or what he would have needed to see in a contract with another team before he would do things to make a cut or trade feasible.

So, if he really wanted out, he would have had to demand a trade and likely restructure to make it work under the cap. But, he did neither of those. I suspect the truth of it was that he would have considered a trade if the Saints proposed one and he wanted to have permission to gage what kind of contract he would get, but was also unwilling to change his contract to make a trade or cut feasible for the Saints. So, I'm sure he was interested in other options, but he wasn't so interested that he was willing to do things to make a cut or a trade happen.

I also suspect that in the end Carr realized that no team was going to be willing to pay him what the Saints were paying him and since the Saints were not going to cut him, he would hold his ground. It's all about the money for Carr, as it should be, so it's not so much that he wants to be here, it's that he like the contract he has here and isn't going to change it.

That’s just it, he could have adjusted his contract to make a trade easier but he did not. We could have converted his 2025 salary and bonus to a guaranteed option bonus due after June to give us time to seek a post June 1 trade partner while giving us cap relief now. Same money, just paid differently. He seems like a guy that would turn that win-win down, and now here we are.

 

[Taker597]

Is adebo really trying to get $19M APY?

 

[St. Widge]

He knew he wasn't going to find another sucker like us, this is his last starter contract. His next stop will be as a bridge or backup. I really wish Mick would get into the game and draft a quarterback high in the next couple of years.

That seems to be what happened. I think he was open to going to another team, but he wasn't going to do anything to help us to make it happen since he didn't think he would get equal or more money in a trade or as a free agent.

I don't think keeping Carr this year really changes our QB situation other than we won't find out what Rattler has this year unless/until Carr gets hurt. But, it certainly should not stop the Saints from drafting a QB if there is one available that they like.

Keeping Carr this year delays a full cap reset, but it does not need to delay the rebuild of the roster. They still need to draft better and stop wasting picks on trading up to rebuild the team with good young players and depth. You can do that regardless of if Carr is your QB or not.

 

[St. Widge]

Is adebo really trying to get $19M APY?

Apparently lots of teams have him as the best available CB in free agency. I think it's all in how you view the PI calls he gets. If you think they were bullshirt or can be corrected, he looks like a great player. If you think they can't be fixed, he's a game losing PI call waiting to happen.

 

[SonOfNOLA]

Thats a strange way for JasonOTC to explain Carr’s dead money to make his 2026 cap situation seem worst than what it is based on the high numbers. It’s known that Carr will carry a very high rostered cap hit/release dead money cap hit no matter what.

He’s leaving out really important info that the Saints can have immediate sub-$10 million cap savings from a Jan/Feb release right after the 2025 season. Saints won’t have to wait until post-June 1 in 2026 to see significant cap savings like they would have in 2025. But they have the option to maximize a 2026 cut as a June 1 to get $50M cap savings. Only mentioning the dead money makes it seem like there’s no cap relief from a Carr release in 2026.

The cut’s 59.67M dead money will be less than the rostered 69.2M cap hit while the cut’s 9.5M difference will go into the cap space. Thats significant cap space to have to combine with the likely $20 million cap space Saints should have in 2026 after 2025 signings.

 

[44slayer]

Will be Interesting to see how we draft 32-40 players “early”.

Adebo @ 19 milly though. Offseason cake taker.

 

[St. Widge]

Thats a strange way for JasonOTC to explain Carr’s dead money to make his 2026 cap situation seem worst than what it is based on the high numbers. It’s known that Carr will carry a very high rostered cap hit/release dead money cap hit no matter what.

He’s leaving out really important info that the Saints can have immediate sub-$10 million cap savings from a Jan/Feb release right after the 2025 season. Saints won’t have to wait until post-June 1 in 2026 to see significant cap savings like they would have in 2025. But they have the option to maximize a 2026 cut as a June 1 to get $50M cap savings. Only mentioning the dead money makes it seem like there’s no cap relief from a Carr release in 2026.

The cut’s 59.67M dead money will be less than the rostered 69.2M cap hit while the cut’s 9.5M difference will go into the cap space. Thats significant cap space to have to combine with the likely $20 million cap space Saints should have in 2026 after 2025 signings.

Jason OTC hates how the Saints do the cap and takes every opportunity to make it sound as bad as possible. There are issues with the things Loomis has done recently, and I think the Carr deal was a bad contract, but it's not as bad as Jason OTC makes it out to be.

 

[44slayer]

Good lord. A lotta zeros on that number. Same as his playoff wins. Looks like we are pushing this into 2027 and maybe a new GM by then, and a new HC.

Just not a good situation no matter how you slice it. Unless you have the ability to perpetually look another year into the future.

 

[Nolan]

Is adebo really trying to get $19M APY?

He'll 100% get that on the open market.

 

[Taker597]

He'll 100% get that on the open market.

Didn't know #2 corners was making that much now

 

[texasjefe]

You do realize that all commenters are visible regardless of who you follow, right? Hell, even some of the so called sports reporters we all follow are throwing temper tantrums this evening, intentionally fanning the flames for clicks. Don’t act so obtuse about what’s happening. Come on now.

Ok, now even easier for me to diagnose your twitter usage.

Years ago, I learned not to waste my time reading twitter commenters or care what they were saying, especially since you, I and many of us read tons of posts here every day. The post quality and discussions here are light years better. I care what St. Geezy and all the regulars say here. I don't care what @Brees46205448 has to say on twitter.

As for the fans and indies who have created their own pundit platforms with podcasts, youtube, tiktok accounts etc.. and draw alot of subscribers and consumers, that's gotta be so much fun for them, but I'm sorry, I don't care or spend time with them and their takes. Same with the folks who are radio hosts but they want people watching them on youtube while they are broadcasting, so you can see their animated personalities and for the engagement chatting.

So, it's not that I'm being obtuse, it's that I ditched those Saints feeback loops a long time ago. I would feel i was being obtuse if I spent time consuming their takes.

I subscribed for a year to Nick and Trip, but same concept, I don't have time or interest to consume all their content, so no more, especially if I'm here.

I now will listen to Ross Jackson a few times a week because his show is short, he talks fast, and mostly, because he's mentoring a young "goddaghter" of mine breaking into Saints media. This person is also someone that @TheNOLAGirl has given the opportunity to write Saints articles and have them published, so my appreciation for Tina is immense.

I stayed on twitter despite Elon because the content is still more fun and funny and I see it faster. I rarely post. I don't "follow" people, I take the twitter folks I would follow, and I add them to lists in categories and see it there in the pinned lists. There are less ads on lists. If e.g. Taker or Elias tweets, I'm gonna see it because the algorithm is more equitable in the lists.

 

[sfidc3]

I've said since the moment CKM was hired that I'll be fine with whatever CKM decides. Loomis....not so much, as my confidence in him has been SEVERELY shaken. But CKM has enough skins on the wall for me to be okay with HIM pulling the levers and driving the machine. That's why you hired the dude....let him drive!

And as much as I like Rattler's POTENTIAL, and hope like hell that we have our future QB already in house, the reality is that he hasn't shown enough YET (IMO) to just hand him the keys. Carr is the better QB, as of right now, until someone shows different. And apparently that's how CKM sees it also. But with that said, I do think it's pretty apparent that DC4 is NOT the future; he is the present....and is likely a bridge, as you said.

And for that reason, I have questions. Having missed the opportunity to jettison Carr for the 2025 season (right, wrong or otherwise), he is here for another season. The cost to move on from him THIS season was well-documented. How does the restructure impact 2026, and/or future seasons? Were going to be revisiting this exact same scenario NEXT offseason....what will it cost to move on from DC4 NEXT season? How painful, and for how many "dead seasons"?

I am looking at CKMs staff and noting the THREE former NFL QBs on staff, which signals to me that the Saints are very serious about QB development. Rattler is going to get every opportunity to elevate his game, as will Haener, and probably future draft picks. While Carr will be tutored in CKMs system also, I view him as "fully formed", and likely to only be "tweaked" for the system. The other guys (Rattler, Haener, unknown draftees/FAs) will be fully molded in the CKM system. I'm honestly curious what CKMs preferences will be. He's worked with a 4th rounder in Dak; a 1st rounder in Herbert; and a 2nd rounder in Hurts. All 3 are very different style QBs, but he has had success with each. And he didn't pick ANY of them...they were someone else's picks that he inherited. What does a CKM pick look like? Curiousity is killing this cat, and I can't wait to find out. Will we find out THIS draft? Or next year? I think it's pretty obvious we're geared to take a QB in the first 3 rounds this year, or next year.

Of course, none of this means that CKMs pick at QB will unseat Carr. But with all those development resources on staff, coupled with Carr's age, and all he's put on tape....it's just a matter of time. What do the exit ramps from the DC4 era look like? I'm not asking for personnel projections....those are unforseen variables at this moment. I see the contract implications as the likely guiding force, waiting for personnel variables to "trip the triggers" at the right time. 2025 is most likely set. Can we get away from Carr in 2026 if we want to? Can some of you cap gurus paint the picture of what we're dealing with in 2026 now? possible beyond? TIA!

I'm not a cap guru but my take on the recent events are thusly....

1) KM obviously likes Carr enough to believe he gives the Saints the best chance to win....now....
2) As stated earlier, he likely believes Rattler is not ready just yet and may (or may not) believe he is not the QB of his future....
3) Supposedly this is one of the weaker QB drafts in recent years and next year's is supposed to be much better so perhaps he has his sights on a QB in the draft in 2026? Not sure but makes some sense.....

We will see what happens, also nice post!!!