Saints could get to $14.61 million under the cap without restructuring Derek Carr, after Saints salary cap potentially increases by $5M (16 Viewers)

[SonOfNOLA]

Per Over The Cap’s Saints cap figures, Saints went from an estimated -$52 million over the cap to now sitting at an estimated -$47.18 million over. The additional $5 million estimate is really helpful for the Saints to have extra room for a few key re-signings and viable low cost FA signings, depending on how the (re)signings’ first years are structured.




Since the cap increased, Saints could now further afford to not require restructuring Derek Carr to become cap compliant and even create additional positive cap space without relying on his contract.
11 current key players/starters would be restructured to get under by the new league year date. That’s if the FO’s plan would be to designate Carr’s release as a post-June 1 release which would come with 30M cap space but after June 1.

The initial 11 restructures to become cap compliant would be
JT Gray (1.2M savings)
Erik McCoy (6.7M savings)
Demario Davis (5.6M savings)
Carl Granderson (5.25M savings)
Tyrann Mathieu (4.5M savings)
Alvin Kamara (1.39M savings)
Cesar Ruiz (6.38M savings)
Pete Werner (2.46M savings)
Foster Moreau (2.05M savings)
Cam Jordan (restructure or paycut to around 9M savings)
Taysom Hill (restructure or paycut to around 5.83M cap savings)








Restructuring those 11 players potentially clears $50.38 million and would put the Saints’ cap space at about $3,197,713 under the cap when the league year starts on March 12. Based on OTC figures.

Releasing Jamaal Williams ($1.59M cap savings), Cedrick Wilson Jr. ($2.4M cap savings), and Nathan Shepherd (1.235M cap savings) (32 years old in Oct), and restructuring Khalen Saunders (1.9M savings) (29 years old in Aug) could bring the Saints cap space to about $10,320,213. If Nathan Shepherd is restructured (3.05M cap savings), instead of released, the available cap space could reach $12,133,963 from those moves.

Saunders and Shepherd are becoming older DTs and haven’t produced like starters. But the Saints need DT depth going into the offseason to not create an overly urgent hole to address with the 9th pick. It seems realistic to keep both Saunders and Shepherd for another season and utilize the 5M combined cap savings from their restructures.

If the Saints agree to an extension with Rashid Shaheed during the beginning of the 2025 offseason, his extension could bring $2.48M cap savings according to Over The Cap’s figures. Saints could then reach $14,613,963 in available cap space after Rashid’s potential extension.

Paycuts for Cam and Taysom wouldn’t impact the Saints’ 2026 cap as much while the majority of Carr’s contract is off the books in 2026 due to a possible post-June 1 in 2025.

This could be an option if Kellen Moore wants a fresh start at QB with younger QBs in year 1. $10-14.6 million in available cap space seems to be viable to operate with at the beginning of the offseason. FA signings could still be made and there’s enough to sign draft picks. But draft pick signings could wait until June. 31M cap space would be available after June 1 from Ramczyk’s retirement and Carr’s post-June 1 release.

 

[Moon]

Who's up for some shopping??

 

[SweetT]

Per Over The Cap’s Saints cap figures, Saints went from an estimated -$51 million over the cap to now sitting at an estimated -$47.18 million over. The additional $4 million estimate is really helpful for the Saints to have extra room for a few key re-signings and viable low cost FA signings, depending on how the (re)signings’ first years are structured.




Since the cap increased, Saints could now further afford to not require restructuring Derek Carr to become cap compliant and even create additional positive cap space without relying on his contract.
11 current key players/starters would be restructured to get under by the new league year date. That’s if the FO’s plan would be to designate Carr’s release as a post-June 1 release which would come with 30M cap space but after June 1.

The initial 11 restructures would be JT Gray (1.2M savings), Erik McCoy (6.7M savings), Demario Davis (5.6M savings), Carl Granderson (5.25M savings), Tyrann Mathieu (4.5M savings), Alvin Kamara (1.39M savings), Cesar Ruiz (6.38M savings), Pete Werner (2.46M savings), Foster Moreau (2.05M savings), Cam Jordan (9M savings), and Taysom Hill (restructure or paycut to around $5.83M cap savings).

View attachment 231848






Restructuring those 11 players potentially clears $50.38 million and would put the Saints’ cap space at about $3,197,713 under the cap when the league year starts on March 12. Based on OTC figures.

Releasing Jamaal Williams ($1.59M cap savings), Cedrick Wilson Jr. ($2.4M cap savings), and Nathan Shepherd (1.235M cap savings) (32 years old in Oct), and restructuring Khalen Saunders (1.9M savings) (29 years old in Aug) could bring the Saints cap space to about $10,320,213. If Nathan Shepherd is restructured (3.05M cap savings), instead of released, the available cap space could reach $12,133,963 from those moves.

Saunders and Shepherd are becoming older DTs and haven’t produced like starters. But the Saints need DT depth going into the offseason to not create an overly urgent hole to address with the 9th pick. It seems realistic to keep both Saunders and Shepherd for another season and utilize the 5M combined cap savings from their restructures.

If the Saints agree to an extension with Rashid Shaheed during the beginning of the 2025 offseason, his extension could bring $2.48M cap savings according to Over The Cap’s figures. Saints could then reach $14,613,963 in available cap space after Rashid’s potential extension.

Ideally, you don’t want to restructure a 36 year old Cam Jordan. But the immediate cap savings of nearly 9M for Cam alone is too significant that it has to be done to become cap compliant and immediately create space. It would be a matter of pushing the lesser of major cap hits of aging/declining players between Cam and Derek Carr. Cam’s restructure dead money wouldn’t impact the Saints’ 2026 cap as much if majority of Carr’s contract is off the books in 2026 due to a possible post-June 1.

This could be an option if Kellen Moore wants a fresh start at QB with younger QBs in year 1. $10-14.6 million in available cap space seems to be viable to operate with at the beginning of the offseason. FA signings could still be made and there’s enough to sign draft picks. But draft pick signings could wait until June. 31M cap space would be available after June 1 from Ramczyk’s retirement and Carr’s post-June 1 release.

SOLID work. Do not touch DC4’s contract. Let that thing go away asap

 

[Stalwart385]

Per Over The Cap’s Saints cap figures, Saints went from an estimated -$51 million over the cap to now sitting at an estimated -$47.18 million over. The additional $4 million estimate is really helpful for the Saints to have extra room for a few key re-signings and viable low cost FA signings, depending on how the (re)signings’ first years are structured.




Since the cap increased, Saints could now further afford to not require restructuring Derek Carr to become cap compliant and even create additional positive cap space without relying on his contract.
11 current key players/starters would be restructured to get under by the new league year date. That’s if the FO’s plan would be to designate Carr’s release as a post-June 1 release which would come with 30M cap space but after June 1.

The initial 11 restructures would be JT Gray (1.2M savings), Erik McCoy (6.7M savings), Demario Davis (5.6M savings), Carl Granderson (5.25M savings), Tyrann Mathieu (4.5M savings), Alvin Kamara (1.39M savings), Cesar Ruiz (6.38M savings), Pete Werner (2.46M savings), Foster Moreau (2.05M savings), Cam Jordan (9M savings), and Taysom Hill (restructure or paycut to around $5.83M cap savings).

View attachment 231848






Restructuring those 11 players potentially clears $50.38 million and would put the Saints’ cap space at about $3,197,713 under the cap when the league year starts on March 12. Based on OTC figures.

Releasing Jamaal Williams ($1.59M cap savings), Cedrick Wilson Jr. ($2.4M cap savings), and Nathan Shepherd (1.235M cap savings) (32 years old in Oct), and restructuring Khalen Saunders (1.9M savings) (29 years old in Aug) could bring the Saints cap space to about $10,320,213. If Nathan Shepherd is restructured (3.05M cap savings), instead of released, the available cap space could reach $12,133,963 from those moves.

Saunders and Shepherd are becoming older DTs and haven’t produced like starters. But the Saints need DT depth going into the offseason to not create an overly urgent hole to address with the 9th pick. It seems realistic to keep both Saunders and Shepherd for another season and utilize the 5M combined cap savings from their restructures.

If the Saints agree to an extension with Rashid Shaheed during the beginning of the 2025 offseason, his extension could bring $2.48M cap savings according to Over The Cap’s figures. Saints could then reach $14,613,963 in available cap space after Rashid’s potential extension.

Ideally, you don’t want to restructure a 36 year old Cam Jordan. But the immediate cap savings of nearly 9M for Cam alone is too significant that it has to be done to become cap compliant and immediately create space. It would be a matter of pushing the lesser of major cap hits of aging/declining players between Cam and Derek Carr. Cam’s restructure dead money wouldn’t impact the Saints’ 2026 cap as much if majority of Carr’s contract is off the books in 2026 due to a possible post-June 1.

This could be an option if Kellen Moore wants a fresh start at QB with younger QBs in year 1. $10-14.6 million in available cap space seems to be viable to operate with at the beginning of the offseason. FA signings could still be made and there’s enough to sign draft picks. But draft pick signings could wait until June. 31M cap space would be available after June 1 from Ramczyk’s retirement and Carr’s post-June 1 release.

Your looking at 12m on the high end. You could squeeze money here and there. With that you must sign a starting caliber G, TE and DE. You also need a viable QB option. Beyond those you still need to look at DT, TE#2, CB and WR. Then you have to consider any scheme change or coaches players. You can't wait till June 1st on all that. By that time the FA market is dried up. You also want to fill those holes before the draft so you don't have to reach.

A trade is more likely to work now, but there are a lot of moving parts so it's hard to give it much consideration. A Carr restructure gives you a ton of room to operate and isn't some damning move like people make it out to be. You will have a ton of money in 2026 and plenty of options to maneuver in 2025. I really don't get why people think they should handcuff themselves other than they think for some reason restructuring Carr damns the team. It doesn't. You don't have to sign another QB this year and the effect next year isn't that significant due to the reduced number of expiring contracts you have to restructure.

 

[Elvis]

I appreciate what you did here because it's always fun to see another method, but I have a question and of course some comments. If you restructure all of those players and kick their money into 2026 and beyond, what does the cap overall look like in 2026?

7 of the players you restructured have contracts that void in March or 2026. That will mean that their prior void year money and the new restructure money will all be due in 2026. And if keeping Carr this year and cutting him next year instead, his void year money will also come due in 2026. By my count, dead money just from restructures on the void year contracts and Carr's dead money from releasing him in 2026 will be $70.6m. If also restructuring Saunders and Shepherd, that dead money number grows further as their contracts also void in 2026 and already have some dead money on them as it is. So by delaying the release of any of those players by a year, we will have a potentially worse situation in the second year. You'd also have to account for the increase of prorated roster bonus money on all of the non-void year contract restructures.

While I do like to see alternative ways to do this, it seems like delaying some inevitable hard decisions to get some more money for what is likely going to be a rebuild year anyway. I feel like if Carr stays, somebody else should go. It shouldn't be kicked forward so we can sign new players that we can't really afford. That is how we got in this mess to start with and I don't understand why we'd start a new era with the same mistakes of the past.

 

[greatshow25]

Your looking at 12m on the high end. You could squeeze money here and there. With that you must sign a starting caliber G, TE and DE. You also need a viable QB option. Beyond those you still need to look at DT, TE#2, CB and WR. Then you have to consider any scheme change or coaches players. You can't wait till June 1st on all that. By that time the FA market is dried up. You also want to fill those holes before the draft so you don't have to reach.

A trade is more likely to work now, but there are a lot of moving parts so it's hard to give it much consideration. A Carr restructure gives you a ton of room to operate and isn't some damning move like people make it out to be. You will have a ton of money in 2026 and plenty of options to maneuver in 2025. I really don't get why people think they should handcuff themselves other than they think for some reason restructuring Carr damns the team. It doesn't. You don't have to sign another QB this year and the effect next year isn't that significant due to the reduced number of expiring contracts you have to restructure.

Out the position you named the only one they may look at is a cheap vet QB between the 3-7 million a year and a guard. Maybe a splash at DT, but the rest will mostly come via the draft I think. So that’s enough money the way the Saints do the first year of contracts.

 

[Stalwart385]

Out the position you named the only one they may look at is a cheap vet QB between the 3-7 million a year and a guard. Maybe a splash at DT, but the rest will mostly come via the draft I think. So that’s enough money the way the Saints do the first year of contracts.

If you rely on the draft for all that you put yourself in a bad position. If you predetermine what you must draft you reach. Drafting well is the most paramount thing we can do right now.

To reduce the first year you need to sign long-term contracts. So 1-year deals aren't much of an option. Void years help but go against the whole premise of this. Even then you are looking at 3-5 mil per contract in the first year for any modest contract that has any guarantees.

Why do this to yourself? Just restructure Carr and give yourself breathing room. You're still set to rebuild in 2026 either way.

 

[SonOfNOLA]

Your looking at 12m on the high end. You could squeeze money here and there. With that you must sign a starting caliber G, TE and DE. You also need a viable QB option. Beyond those you still need to look at DT, TE#2, CB and WR. Then you have to consider any scheme change or coaches players. You can't wait till June 1st on all that. By that time the FA market is dried up. You also want to fill those holes before the draft so you don't have to reach.

A trade is more likely to work now, but there are a lot of moving parts so it's hard to give it much consideration. A Carr restructure gives you a ton of room to operate and isn't some damning move like people make it out to be. You will have a ton of money in 2026 and plenty of options to maneuver in 2025. I really don't get why people think they should handcuff themselves other than they think for some reason restructuring Carr damns the team. It doesn't. You don't have to sign another QB this year and the effect next year isn't that significant due to the reduced number of expiring contracts you have to restructure.

Saints have never been big FA shoppers for several major starting level UFAs. There’s usually 1 major signing, then a lot of low cost vets who can start but rotate snaps with existing players. The draft would address starters at Edge, G, DT, and TE like draft projections have been projecting for a while now. Edge could be addressed with the 1st or 2nd. TE in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd. We can typically find a starting G in the 2nd or with one of the 3rds. We have some existing talent at some of those positions that Moore can work with for a season.

The draft has been the Saints’ primary source of reloading with contributors. But according to the Saints’ FA history, I believe there can be multiple significant affordable signings immediately done within 10-14M cap space based on how the FAs’ contracts are structured. More reasonable roster additions can also be made in June through potential cap savings from Carr’s post 6/1 release.

It makes sense to keep Carr so Moore could have more of a competitive team to work with via a QB that he can win games with. I think all options are explorable and not touching Carr’s contract could be one of them depending on Moore’s plans at QB in years 1-2.

 

[greatshow25]

If you rely on the draft for all that you put yourself in a bad position. If you predetermine what you must draft you reach. Drafting well is the most paramount thing we can do right now.

To reduce the first year you need to sign long-term contracts. So 1-year deals aren't much of an option. Void years help but go against the whole premise of this. Even then you are looking at 3-5 mil per contract in the first year for any modest contract that has any guarantees.

Why do this to yourself? Just restructure Carr and give yourself breathing room. You're still set to rebuild in 2026 either way.

The TE market is horrible this year that it makes Johnson looks like the top TE this year. If you try to get a DE/Edge, they will overpay unless they go bargain shopping. Bargain shopping has been what they have done the last few years to get back closer to the cap. I wasn’t saying a one year deal. I was saying in the first year of the deal. I think with Carr, in his first year he counted like 1.5 million his first year. They normally do something with signing bonus and incentives in the first year so they can fit contracts. Plus, this year’s draft is deep at WR, DE/edge, CB, RB and TE. They have 8 picks. They need cheap rookie contracts, not free agents.

 

[Goatman Saint]

Some good ideas, but I’m really against mortgaging 2026 any more than we have to. Ideally I’d like to see Carr traded. That would give us the best way out. I’m less about the Carr hate, and more about how that’s a giant butt load of cash that could be cleared off the books, then that allows for some wiggle room to push less into future years. I don’t want to see a young up and coming coach hamstrung by the old players any longer than he has to be. Clear it out as quick as possible, take the lumps and let him build his team asap

 

[nolasteve]

Per Over The Cap’s Saints cap figures, Saints went from an estimated -$51 million over the cap to now sitting at an estimated -$47.18 million over. The additional $4 million estimate is really helpful for the Saints to have extra room for a few key re-signings and viable low cost FA signings, depending on how the (re)signings’ first years are structured.




Since the cap increased, Saints could now further afford to not require restructuring Derek Carr to become cap compliant and even create additional positive cap space without relying on his contract.
11 current key players/starters would be restructured to get under by the new league year date. That’s if the FO’s plan would be to designate Carr’s release as a post-June 1 release which would come with 30M cap space but after June 1.

The initial 11 restructures would be JT Gray (1.2M savings), Erik McCoy (6.7M savings), Demario Davis (5.6M savings), Carl Granderson (5.25M savings), Tyrann Mathieu (4.5M savings), Alvin Kamara (1.39M savings), Cesar Ruiz (6.38M savings), Pete Werner (2.46M savings), Foster Moreau (2.05M savings), Cam Jordan (9M savings), and Taysom Hill (restructure or paycut to around $5.83M cap savings).

View attachment 231848






Restructuring those 11 players potentially clears $50.38 million and would put the Saints’ cap space at about $3,197,713 under the cap when the league year starts on March 12. Based on OTC figures.

Releasing Jamaal Williams ($1.59M cap savings), Cedrick Wilson Jr. ($2.4M cap savings), and Nathan Shepherd (1.235M cap savings) (32 years old in Oct), and restructuring Khalen Saunders (1.9M savings) (29 years old in Aug) could bring the Saints cap space to about $10,320,213. If Nathan Shepherd is restructured (3.05M cap savings), instead of released, the available cap space could reach $12,133,963 from those moves.

Saunders and Shepherd are becoming older DTs and haven’t produced like starters. But the Saints need DT depth going into the offseason to not create an overly urgent hole to address with the 9th pick. It seems realistic to keep both Saunders and Shepherd for another season and utilize the 5M combined cap savings from their restructures.

If the Saints agree to an extension with Rashid Shaheed during the beginning of the 2025 offseason, his extension could bring $2.48M cap savings according to Over The Cap’s figures. Saints could then reach $14,613,963 in available cap space after Rashid’s potential extension.

Ideally, you don’t want to restructure a 36 year old Cam Jordan. But the immediate cap savings of nearly 9M for Cam alone is too significant that it has to be done to become cap compliant and immediately create space. It would be a matter of pushing the lesser of major cap hits of aging/declining players between Cam and Derek Carr. Cam’s restructure dead money wouldn’t impact the Saints’ 2026 cap as much if majority of Carr’s contract is off the books in 2026 due to a possible post-June 1.

This could be an option if Kellen Moore wants a fresh start at QB with younger QBs in year 1. $10-14.6 million in available cap space seems to be viable to operate with at the beginning of the offseason. FA signings could still be made and there’s enough to sign draft picks. But draft pick signings could wait until June. 31M cap space would be available after June 1 from Ramczyk’s retirement and Carr’s post-June 1 release.

Hire this man

 

[nolasteve]

The te market is horrible this year Johnson looks like the top te this year. If you try to get a de/edge they will over pay unless they go bargain shopping. Bargain shopping has been what they have done the last few years to get back closer to the cap. I wasn’t saying a one year deal I was saying in the first year of the deal. I think with Carr his first year he counted like 1.5 million his first year. They normally do something with signing bonus and incentives in the first year so they can fit contracts. Plus this year is deep at WR, DE/edge, CB, RB and TE. They have 8 picks they need cheap rookie contracts not free agents.

Holy runoff, Batman!

 

[SailorJerrysHorse]

I appreciate what you did here because it's always fun to see another method, but I have a question and of course some comments. If you restructure all of those players and kick their money into 2026 and beyond, what does the cap overall look like in 2026?

7 of the players you restructured have contracts that void in March or 2026. That will mean that their prior void year money and the new restructure money will all be due in 2026. And if keeping Carr this year and cutting him next year instead, his void year money will also come due in 2026. By my count, dead money just from restructures on the void year contracts and Carr's dead money from releasing him in 2026 will be $70.6m. If also restructuring Saunders and Shepherd, that dead money number grows further as their contracts also void in 2026 and already have some dead money on them as it is. So by delaying the release of any of those players by a year, we will have a potentially worse situation in the second year. You'd also have to account for the increase of prorated roster bonus money on all of the non-void year contract restructures.

While I do like to see alternative ways to do this, it seems like delaying some inevitable hard decisions to get some more money for what is likely going to be a rebuild year anyway. I feel like if Carr stays, somebody else should go. It shouldn't be kicked forward so we can sign new players that we can't really afford. That is how we got in this mess to start with and I don't understand why we'd start a new era with the same mistakes of the past.

I was kind of reading it as don’t restructure Carr this year and designate him as a post June 1 cut. Or maybe that was my wishful thinking.

 

[Elvis]

I was kind of reading it as don’t restructure Carr this year and designate him as a post June 1 cut. Or maybe that was my wishful thinking.

If that were the case, it would essentially be the same plan as I laid out a couple of weeks ago, but with just a little bit more up front money available during free agency due to the cap increase announced today and using more of the options I made at the bottom of my post. So I don't think that is what he was getting at. I think he wants to pay Carr the $30m this year and carry him into next year.

 

[Stalwart385]

The te market is horrible this year Johnson looks like the top te this year. If you try to get a de/edge they will over pay unless they go bargain shopping. Bargain shopping has been what they have done the last few years to get back closer to the cap. I wasn’t saying a one year deal I was saying in the first year of the deal. I think with Carr his first year he counted like 1.5 million his first year. They normally do something with signing bonus and incentives in the first year so they can fit contracts. Plus this year is deep at WR, DE/edge, CB, RB and TE. They have 8 picks they need cheap rookie contracts not free agents.

Car was 7 mil in his first year. The lowest you can go in year 1 in about 1.3 if there are no signing bonuses. Basically, that would never happen for anything but vet minimum. For example last year they signed Chase Young to a 13mil deal and had to pay 4 mil the first year. To do that they had to push 9mil to this year.

Again relying on the draft to fill all those holes is not a good move. If you want to draft well at least give yourself an option in FA so you don't have to reach.