Playing GM for the Saints Ahead of the New League Year

Mickey Loomis has his hands full with the Saints this offseason, but that's nothing new. We put ourselves in the driver's seat to see how things could play out ahead of the new league year.

John Hendrix | Mar 4, 2022

After the Scouting Combine wraps up, the Saints are going to have to make some very quick work in the front office before the new NFL league year gets kicked off on March 16. With less than two weeks to go, New Orleans is a team that still needs to make big player decisions and get under the salary cap.

While Mickey Loomis, Jeff Ireland, and Khai Harley are certainly the experts here. We play hypotheticals and check out some things the Saints will

Getting Under the Salary Cap

This always appear to be a daunting task from the outside looking in, as New Orleans was roughly $76 million over the cap going into March 16. We looked at their top cap hits in mid-January, and here's a brief refresher of those.

Marshon Lattimore - $27.45 million ($9.1 million base + $1.5 million signing bonus + $15 million roster bonus + $1.85 million restructure bonus)
Michael Thomas - $24.7 million ($15.35 million base + $4 million signing bonus + $250K roster bonus + $200K workout bonus + $4.9 million restructure bonus)
Ryan Ramczyk - $23.04 million ($10.5 million base + $3.8 million signing bonus + $8.74 million roster bonus)
Cam Jordan - $22.88 million ($13.6 million base + $3.1 million signing bonus + $1 million roster bonus + $100K roster bonus + $5.08 million restructure bonus)
Andrus Peat - $15.45 million ($10.85 million base + $2.6 million signing bonus + $2 million restructure bonus)
Alvin Kamara - $14.5 million ($5.5 million base)
David Onyemata - $13.17 million ($7.5 million base)
Terron Armstead - $13 million ($13 million dead money)
Taysom Hill - $12.325 million ($1.1 million base)
Malcolm Jenkins - $12.2 million ($7.75 million base)
Demario Davis - $11 million ($7.5 million base)
Bradley Roby - $10 million ($9.5 million base)
Marcus Davenport - $9.8 million (Estimated fifth-year option)

ALREADY STARTED: The Saints wiped out nearly 45 percent of their overage by restructuring the contracts of Michael Thomas, Ryan Ramczyk, and Andrus Peat. This cut out over $34 million of the nearly $76 million deficit.

LOW-HANGING FRUIT: In roster bonuses, the Saints could convert nearly $40 million to signing bonuses between Lattimore, Hill, Ramczyk, Kamara, Onyemata, and Jenkins. This would allow New Orleans to spread it on the cap into lesser charges over the duration of player contracts. In addition to Ramczyk, Lattimore and Kamara seem like no-brainer moves and something we'd make happen. Taking some player base salaries and converting them into signing bonuses would also be a possible plan of attack.

TOUGH CALL: Bradley Roby's future seems to be cloudy, as he can provide the most savings by being cut from the team. That doesn't mean he couldn't reunite with New Orleans, but unless the team figures out something longer for him, he may be on the way out. That seems likely.

POTENTIAL OPTION: Davenport is going to play under the 5th-year option for now, but that doesn't mean the figure is set in stone. New Orleans hasn't had a problem paying players this way, and they've taken creative approaches in the past adding some void years to lessen the cap hit. Davenport played some of his best football last season, and now would be a good time to try to get a contract extension in.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS: Bob Rose looked at some potential cap cut possibilities. Aside Roby, he looked at Mark Ingram, Malcolm Jenkins, Nick Vannett, and Tanoh Kpassagnon. It doesn't feel like they would move on from anyone but Roby, and they really don't have to if they get the restructures done.

Impending Free Agent Decisions

The Saints have already made some easy decisions on Juwan Johnson and Albert Huggins as exclusive rights free agents. They should also look at bringing back Jalen Dalton. That will set them up to make some decisions on their restricted ones. The group includes Garrett Griffin, Carl Granderson, Deonte Harris, Ethan Greenidge, and Shy Tuttle.

TENDER RFAs: Carl Granderson, Deonte Harty, Shy Tuttle

UFAs (RE-SIGN): Marcus Williams, Jameis Winston

UFAs (LET WALK/TEST THE MARKET): Kwon Alexander, Terron Armstead, Dwayne Washington, Ty Montgomery, Jeff Heath, Trevor Siemian, Jalyn Holmes, Tre'Quan Smith, P.J. Williams

We've previously looked at decisions regarding the free agents surrounding Marcus Williams, Winston, Alexander, Armstead, P.J. Williams, and Smith. It seems like Winston may be the answer for the Saints quarterback room, unless something else presents itself. Armstead walking seems likely, and New Orleans would be on the hook for $13 million in dead money.

Regarding Marcus Williams, the deadline is quickly approaching for the Saints to make a decision on whether or not to use the franchise tag. They'd be able to lock him up before March 8 and work on a long-term deal, which would come in around $13 million. He's certainly a valuable piece to what the team does defensively in the secondary, so that'd be a big loss for Dennis Allen.

An alternate school of thought for the spot is letting Williams walk and then prioritizing P.J. Williams for the position. Again, that may not feel ideal, and there's going to be a considerable change there. However, it also could make sense with him finding his groove on the back end. New Orleans has a similar decision on their hands with Alexander, as Pete Werner could step in to pair alongside Demario Davis. However, Werner is on the roster.

We also should remember that just because a player hits the market and is allowed to check with other teams, that doesn't mean that the Saints can't bring them back. In some aspects, Alexander and P.J. Williams could see what the going rates are, and in good faith give the team a chance to have an offer.

Again, Mickey Loomis and company are going to have their hands full, but this is also the time where they shine and tend to operate at their best. Things will certainly come quickly for the Saints, and naturally with Sean Payton gone, this has become their most important offseason yet.

Getting Under the Salary Cap

Impending Free Agent Decisions

Read More Saints News