ESPN:
The New Orleans Saints must free up approximately $43 million in salary cap space before the new league year begins at 4 p.m. ET on March 12.
The 2025 salary cap was set at $279.2 million on Thursday, a $23.8 million raise from last year. Teams are not allowed to be over the salary cap once the free agency signing period begins, giving the Saints a week to get cap compliant.
The $45 million estimate includes “dead money” hits from releasing wide receiver Michael Thomas and quarterback Jameis Winston in the 2024 offseason and trading cornerback Marshon Lattimore in November. It also accounts for the potential voiding of wide receiver Juwan Johnson, defensive lineman Tanoh Kpassagnon and defensive end Chase Young’s contracts.
If those three contracts void when the league year begins, a total of $17.4 million will accelerate into the cap, pushing the Saints dead money total to $65 million, or 23.5% of their total cap.
The dead money number will grow as the Saints release other players and upon the expected retirement of right tackle Ryan Ramczyk, who restructured his contract in January to account for his pending exit. The Saints lowered Ramczyk’s salary to the league minimum of $1.255 million. Ramczyk has not played since the 2023 season due to serious knee issues, and this move paves the way for him to officially retire after June 1. The Saints will then get his base salary credited back and will take on $11.083 million in dead money this year and $11.9 million next year.
New Orleans also released RB Jamaal Williams on Tuesday. Williams rushed for only 470 yards and two touchdowns since signing a three-year deal in the 2023 free agency period. The Saints will absorb $2.34 million in dead money by cutting Williams.
Here’s what to know about the Saints salary cap situation and how they can get under the cap by March 12.
What does keeping quarterback Derek Carr means for Saints’ cap compliance?
The Saints made their most important decision of the offseason when they decided to stick with Carr for a third season.
“I think we feel like we’ve got a guy we can win with, we’re excited about it,” Saints general manager Mickey Loomis told reporters at the NFL scouting combine.
Loomis indicated the team will move forward with Carr, a decision that did not appear to be set in stone when the offseason began. His $30 million base salary becomes guaranteed on the third day of the league year.
“The size of the salary always factors into everything right? It’s just the nature of the game right now. But we’ll manage that,” Loomis said.
Carr’s $51.4 million cap figure made it almost impossible for the team to get through free agency without addressing it in some way.
While the team could have avoided absorbing a $50 million dead cap figure this year by making him a post-June 1 cut, they still would have had to carry his base salary on the books until that date, giving them little space to sign players in free agency. Releasing him outright would put $50 million on the books immediately and only save $1.3 million against the salary cap.
Carr, who signed a four-year contract in 2023, told ESPN earlier in the offseason that he wasn’t open to a pay cut, but the Saints could either sign him to an extension or convert his $30 million base salary and $10 million roster bonus into a signing bonus. A restructure seems like the most likely option at this point.
“It’s tight. There’s no secret to that,” Loomis said of the salary cap situation. “And his is a big number. So hopefully we’ll be able to maneuver.”
A full restructure of Carr’s contract would free up $30.9 million in 2025 but push $7.7 million into 2026, giving him a 2026 cap figure of $69 million. That means the Saints will have to make a decision about Carr’s contract again next offseason.
The downside of restructuring Carr’s contract is that releasing him next year will have a bigger impact on the salary cap. A full restructure would add $7.7 million to each year of the deal, and if the Saints released him in 2026, they would either face about $42.4 million in dead money charges or $19.2 million as a post-June 1 cut, while still having to carry his salary through the offseason.
The upside is that a full restructure of Carr’s contract puts the Saints more than halfway to cap compliance. If played at his current cap figure, and the Saints did not elect to do pay cuts for any other player, they would likely need to do a full restructure of at least eight of their other top contracts to get to free agency, and several more moves after that to sign free agents and rookies and establish a practice squad.
Which players could be approached about pay cuts?
There are usually one or two players a year approached to take a pay cut. It usually only happens when the team is open to releasing the player if a negotiated contract isn’t met. But in some situations, the team will concede some guaranteed money or add years to the contract in exchange for a short-term salary decrease.
Two candidates that could be approached for pay cuts in 2025 are tight end Taysom Hill, 34, and defensive end Cameron Jordan, 35. While Jordan said he wants to play a 15th season, he was unhappy with his playing time under former head coach Dennis Allen and does not want to be moved to defensive tackle. He would like to stay with the Saints, but doing so at his current $20 million cap number seems unlikely.
“Obviously Cam’s been an important guy for us … I know Cam has already talked to [head coach] Kellen [Moore] on a couple of occasions,” Loomis said.
Jordan had six sacks the last two seasons with a base salary of $12.5 million due this year. The Saints have already guaranteed $1.5 million of his 2025 base, and his full base will be guaranteed the third day of the league year. Restructuring would open up $9 million in space but would add up to $17 million in dead money charges next year if his contract voids.
One comparable example to Jordan is perhaps defense end Will Smith, who took a $6 million pay cut to return to the Saints in 2013 for his final year with the organization. Using that number as an estimate, the Saints could lower Jordan’s base salary to $6.5 million and keep him on the roster for at least one more season. That would leave a still significant but more manageable $14 million dollar cap hit for 2025.
If the Saints cannot come to an agreement on a negotiated deal with Jordan and wanted to release him, they could designate him as a post-June 1 cut. In that situation, they would take on $9 million in dead money in 2025 and $14.9 million in 2026.
Moore said Jordan has been “awesome,” and said his impact goes beyond the field.
“Certainly we still see the play. We don’t want to lose sight of that,” Moore said. “You can watch it on film, it’s stil. there … He still impacts games, we feel fortunate about that.”
Jordan pay cut cap savings: $6 million
Jordan post-June 1 cap savings: $11 million
Hill scored six touchdowns in 2024 but suffered several significant injuries, including a torn ACL at the end of the season. He currently counts $17.9 million against the cap.
Loomis said that there haven’t been retirement discussions with Hill despite his injury.
“I try to block that sort of thing out of my mind. I don’t want to put that thought in anybody’s head, especially when he’s playing as well as he was playing,” Loomis said.
Although Hill is a tight end in name only, his cash value of $10 million next season is tied for 11th at the position in 2025. Releasing Hill as a normal cut would provide minimal cap savings.
If the Saints gave Hill and Jordan the same base salary, they would save $3.5 million against the cap for Hill’s contract. They’d save his $10 million base salary if they made Hill a post-June 1 release.
Hill pay cut cap savings: $3.5 million
Hill post-June 1 cap savings: $10 million
What contracts could be restructured?
Ideally the Saints would limit their restructures to try to get the cap into a more manageable place by 2026, but it will be necessary for some contracts to open up the space to get through the season.
The no-brainer restructures will come from some of the young, core players like center Erik McCoy, 27. He’s an easy candidate for a restructure with three seasons left on his contract.
The Saints can take McCoy’s $9.6 million base salary and $500,000 roster bonus, convert them to a signing bonus and spread them out over the remaining years of the contract. They could also add a void year for additional savings.
McCoy cap savings: $6.7 million
Guard Cesar Ruiz will only be 26 when the 2025 season begins and still has $9.2 million in guaranteed salary left on his deal. He is signed through the 2027 season and a good candidate for a restructure.
Ruiz cap savings: $6.4 million
Defensive end Carl Granderson already has $7.7 million in base salary guaranteed for 2025, and $3.4 million guaranteed for 2026, so a typical restructure would work here as well.
Granderson cap savings: $5.25 million
Linebacker Pete Werner was signed to an extension last year and his base salary of $4.25 million is guaranteed, so they’ll likely restructure here if they still need the money.
Werner cap savings: $2.46 million
What could the Saints do with veteran contracts?
Last offseason, the Saints chose not to restructure running back Alvin Kamara’s contract, a sign the they weren’t sure about his long term deal at the time — although they eventually reached an extension in October.
That could be the case this year for veterans like linebacker Demario Davis, 36, and safety Tyrann Mathieu, 32. Both already took pay cuts last year and have similar contracts going into the final years of their respective deals.
If the Saints keep both Davis and Mathieu on the roster this year, they might choose not to restructure their deals. Davis counts $12.4 million against the salary cap this season and would count $8.7 million against the cap next year if his contract voids in 2026. Mathieu counts $11.3 million against the salary cap this year and would count $7.2 million against the salary cap if his contract voids next season.
If both contracts are fully restructured, then the Saints would absorb a $11.7 million charge for Mathieu’s contract if it voids next year and $14.32 million for Davis’ contract if it voids.
McCoy cap savings: $6.7 million
Guard Cesar Ruiz will only be 26 when the 2025 season begins and still has $9.2 million in guaranteed salary left on his deal. He is signed through the 2027 season and a good candidate for a restructure.
Ruiz cap savings: $6.4 million
Defensive end Carl Granderson already has $7.7 million in base salary guaranteed for 2025, and $3.4 million guaranteed for 2026, so a typical restructure would work here as well.
Granderson cap savings: $5.25 million
Linebacker Pete Werner was signed to an extension last year and his base salary of $4.25 million is guaranteed, so they’ll likely restructure here if they still need the money.
Werner cap savings: $2.46 million
What could the Saints do with veteran contracts?
Last offseason, the Saints chose not to restructure running back Alvin Kamara’s contract, a sign the they weren’t sure about his long term deal at the time — although they eventually reached an extension in October.
That could be the case this year for veterans like linebacker Demario Davis, 36, and safety Tyrann Mathieu, 32. Both already took pay cuts last year and have similar contracts going into the final years of their respective deals.
If the Saints keep both Davis and Mathieu on the roster this year, they might choose not to restructure their deals. Davis counts $12.4 million against the salary cap this season and would count $8.7 million against the cap next year if his contract voids in 2026. Mathieu counts $11.3 million against the salary cap this year and would count $7.2 million against the salary cap if his contract voids next season.
If both contracts are fully restructured, then the Saints would absorb a $11.7 million charge for Mathieu’s contract if it voids next year and $14.32 million for Davis’ contract if it voids.
McCoy cap savings: $6.7 million
Guard Cesar Ruiz will only be 26 when the 2025 season begins and still has $9.2 million in guaranteed salary left on his deal. He is signed through the 2027 season and a good candidate for a restructure.
Ruiz cap savings: $6.4 million
Defensive end Carl Granderson already has $7.7 million in base salary guaranteed for 2025, and $3.4 million guaranteed for 2026, so a typical restructure would work here as well.
Granderson cap savings: $5.25 million
Linebacker Pete Werner was signed to an extension last year and his base salary of $4.25 million is guaranteed, so they’ll likely restructure here if they still need the money.
Werner cap savings: $2.46 million
What could the Saints do with veteran contracts?
Last offseason, the Saints chose not to restructure running back Alvin Kamara’s contract, a sign the they weren’t sure about his long term deal at the time — although they eventually reached an extension in October.
That could be the case this year for veterans like linebacker Demario Davis, 36, and safety Tyrann Mathieu, 32. Both already took pay cuts last year and have similar contracts going into the final years of their respective deals.
If the Saints keep both Davis and Mathieu on the roster this year, they might choose not to restructure their deals. Davis counts $12.4 million against the salary cap this season and would count $8.7 million against the cap next year if his contract voids in 2026. Mathieu counts $11.3 million against the salary cap this year and would count $7.2 million against the salary cap if his contract voids next season.
If both contracts are fully restructured, then the Saints would absorb a $11.7 million charge for Mathieu’s contract if it voids next year and $14.32 million for Davis’ contract if it voids.
McCoy cap savings: $6.7 million
Guard Cesar Ruiz will only be 26 when the 2025 season begins and still has $9.2 million in guaranteed salary left on his deal. He is signed through the 2027 season and a good candidate for a restructure.
Ruiz cap savings: $6.4 million
Defensive end Carl Granderson already has $7.7 million in base salary guaranteed for 2025, and $3.4 million guaranteed for 2026, so a typical restructure would work here as well.
Granderson cap savings: $5.25 million
Linebacker Pete Werner was signed to an extension last year and his base salary of $4.25 million is guaranteed, so they’ll likely restructure here if they still need the money.
Werner cap savings: $2.46 million
What could the Saints do with veteran contracts?
Last offseason, the Saints chose not to restructure running back Alvin Kamara’s contract, a sign the they weren’t sure about his long term deal at the time — although they eventually reached an extension in October.
That could be the case this year for veterans like linebacker Demario Davis, 36, and safety Tyrann Mathieu, 32. Both already took pay cuts last year and have similar contracts going into the final years of their respective deals.
If the Saints keep both Davis and Mathieu on the roster this year, they might choose not to restructure their deals. Davis counts $12.4 million against the salary cap this season and would count $8.7 million against the cap next year if his contract voids in 2026. Mathieu counts $11.3 million against the salary cap this year and would count $7.2 million against the salary cap if his contract voids next season.
If both contracts are fully restructured, then the Saints would absorb a $11.7 million charge for Mathieu’s contract if it voids next year and $14.32 million for Davis’ contract if it voids.
Mathieu has said that he wants to play for a few more years, but if the Saints move on, they would need to release him as a post-June 1 cut for any cap saving.
Mathieu post-June 1 cap savings: $6.25 million
Mathieu restructure cap savings: $4.5 million
Davis post-June 1 cap savings: $4 million
Davis restructure cap savings: $5.5 million
The Saints could also save a little against the cap if they released veteran defensive tackle Khalen Saunders.
Saunders, 28, played 39% of the defensive snaps in 2024 after missing four games due to injury. He is entering the final season of a three-year deal he signed in 2023.
Saunders cap savings: $2.1 million
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