The New Orleans Saints are still over the salary cap by more than $55 million after restructuring their contract with veteran safety Marcus Maye this week, so it’s clear that they have a lot of work to do a month ahead of free agency. And they will continue to lean on their restructure strategy to open up salary cap resources and keep their best players in town.
So who are the top candidates to be restructured next? Many of these contracts are designed with future moves in mind, so it’s not too difficult to scout ahead and guess at which players will rework their deals in the coming days and weeks. Here’s a quick survey, using contract data from Over The Cap:
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- Current salary cap hit: $21,441,321
- Max restructure savings: $9,690,000
NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill reports that the Saints are already at work in restructuring Ramczyk’s deal, but that it might be more complicated than a simple restructure. What that means is unclear: maybe Ramczyk’s side wants a new extension, maybe the Saints want to pay his signing bonus in regular installments rather than a single lump sum, or maybe it’s a secret, more complex third thing. At any rate, Ramczyk’s final cap charge won’t be anywhere close to its current state.
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- Current salary cap hit: $22,464,317
- Max restructure savings: $10,065,000
The Saints restructured Lattimore last year, too, but that’s always been part of the plan. They’ll continue to lower his base salary (valued at $14.5 million) to the veteran’s minimum and pay the difference as a signing bonus because it allows them greater financial flexibility.
Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
- Current salary cap hit: $25,707,838
- Max restructure savings: $10,001,250
Jordan currently has the highest cap hit on the team, and that is definitely going to change. He’s also in the final year of his contract. It might make more sense to sign him to a new deal rather than to work a restructure with the usual void years, which would achieve the same effect while allowing him to close out his career with New Orleans.
AP Photo/Danny Karnik
- Current salary cap hit: $12,680,000
- Max restructure savings: $8,000,000
Most of McCoy’s cap hit comes from a $10 million roster bonus which is primed for restructuring (which the Saints did last year with Ramczyk and Lattimore). Paying…
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