METAIRIE, La. — ESPN NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler announced on social media Friday that the New Orleans Saints are restructuring the contracts of quarterback Derek Carr and at least two offensive linemen to provide salary cap relief heading into the 2024-25 season.
According to Fowler's post on X (formerly known as Twitter), a source says Carr's restructure alone is expected to save the Saints $23 million in cap relief. Meanwhile, the team is also expected to restructure multiple other contracts, including 2023 Pro Bowl center Erik McCoy and guard Cesar Ruiz.
The NFL's salary cap for 2024 is up a record $30.6 million from last year at $255.4 million.
This marks the the third straight year the NFL has increased since it dropped to $182.5 million in 2020 from $198.2 million the year previously.
The Saints entered the offseason $82 million over the cap. It is a situation longtime General Manager Mickey Loomis is quite familiar with.
“You mean like every year?” Loomis quipped when asked about the cap last month. However, Loomis has no plans to blow up an aging roster that ranked as the second oldest in the league at the start of last season. Instead, the Saints typically kick the debt down the road by restructuring contracts and making roster cuts to get cap compliant.
Carr is due $30M in base salary, so converting all but the league minimum to a signing bonus can provide immediate savings to an overstretched Saints team.
According to Spotrac, the Saints converted $28.79 million of Carr's 2024 salary on Friday into a signing bonus and added a void year. That cleared up $23.02 million of cap. A day earlier, the team converted $8.475 million of McCoy's salary and a $500,000 roster bonus into a signing bonus, adding one void year, which freed up $7.18 million.
Last March, the Saints signed the former Raider to a four-year, $150 million contract that included $100 million in guarantees.
The Saints finished (9-8) on the season and missed the playoffs for the third straight year. Carr completed 375 passes on 548 attempts for 3,878 yards with 25 touchdowns, eight interceptions and a 97.7 quarterback rating.
New Orleans struggled in the red zone all season. Heading into December, the team was fourth-worst in the league in scoring touchdowns inside the 20. But the struggles were not limited there.
With Carr under center, the Saints failed to score a touchdown on an opening drive until the second-to-last game of the season.
The Carr-led Saints found their groove in the final stretch of the season as the four-time Pro Bowler threw 14 touchdowns, and one interception, in the last five games – four of which the Saints won, including the last two.
In other Saints news this week, the team finalized its staff by hiring six coaches – all offensive – to serve under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who was brought in to replace longtime OC Pete Carmichael earlier this month.
Third-year head coach Dennis Allen and his revamped staff will now turn their attention toward next week’s NFL combine and preparing for the free agency period to open March 13 with an opportunity to spend more freely.
The increased cap total could impact how teams use the franchise tag. The 15-day window to apply the tag to impending free agents began on Feb. 20.
Players scouted in the combine could up their stock for the three-day NFL Draft, which runs from Thursday, April, 25 to Sunday, April 27.
Currently, the Saints have the 14th overall pick in the first round.
The last time the team picked 14th was 2018 when they drafted defensive end Marcus Davenport. Previously they selected safety Malcolm Jenkins 14th in 2009.
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