Saints Cap Moves: Derek Carr restructured, Erik McCoy restructured; J. Williams released; cap space is at -$8,543,537 (178 Viewers)

[AARPSaint]

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!

Excellent post.

 

[Elvis]

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 definitely not a "cap guru", but I have studied it quite a lot.

Right now it is too soon to say what the cap will look like in 2026. The team right now only has 44 players under contract for 2026 as compared to 61 in 2025. I do not see that being the case at this time next year. We will likely sign players to contracts this year with league minimum base salaries and higher numbers next year. We also don't know how much more can kicking the team is going to do in the next few days. If they do more restructures this year on players whose contracts void in 2026 (currently 10 players), that will increase our dead money cap hit in 2026.

Regardless, Carr's cap number for 2026 is going to be ridiculously high for a player who has achieived so little in the NFL.

 

[SoggyBottomBoy]

Everyone is still acting like there was some magic potion that would wipe out the cap by just sucking it up and “just ripping off the bandaid”. There were many, many, many explanations and possible ways we could have gone. It was very helpful to learn and understand, though mind numbingly repetitive.

And STILL we get the same, inaccurate whining after the one of the most logical approaches was enacted. We could win the division this season and a playoff game, in the midst of this cap reset, and still some will moan that we aren’t a championship caliber team.

We have a promising new coach and staff, the Carr situation is done, the final moves to get cap compliant are coming, then we move on to the draft and free agency. I don’t see us going all in on free agency, but just trying to secure some of our own free agents and a few mid-range hole fillers.

We have a debt to improve on but it is still a planned, work-in-progress while still trying to field a competitive team for many valid reasons. A lot to look forward to. Or still dwell on the past things that can’t be changed, you know, like when we traded the pick that netted us Gary Cuozzo instead of Bubba Smith.

 

[Taker597]

This is extremely concerning coming from Ross Jackson.

 

[St. Widge]

This is extremely concerning coming from Ross Jackson.

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.

 

[Rouxble]

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.

Carr wanted out of Vegas, but he didn’t do anything to make it easier on them. He also made sure they had to cut him rather than let them get any draft comp.

 

[Saints 318]

He better win us games and be a very good game manager

 

[St. Widge]

Carr wanted out of Vegas, but he didn’t do anything to make it easier on them. He also made sure they had to cut him rather than let them get any draft comp.

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 likes the contract he has here and isn't going to change it.

 

[No2DC]

This is extremely concerning coming from Ross Jackson.

When can we move on from this underachieving guy? "He who shall not be named" is one of the worst current (what you did 20 years ago doesn't matter today) GMs in the league.

 

[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.