The New Orleans Saints are dealing with another challenging salary cap situation in 2024, but they’ve boxed themselves into a corner in at least one way: there aren’t many contracts they can tear up and save much money against the cap. Years of restructures and heavy guarantees have caught up to them and some players who aren’t meeting expectations don’t necessarily fit the description of a cap casualty. There just aren’t many players the Saints can let go and recoup many savings.
That’s not say everyone’s safe. There are some players who could be moved ahead of free agency and the 2024 NFL draft when salary cap resources matter most. With that in mind, here’s a look at some players who are in a precarious position:
Marcus Maye
2024 cap hit: $9.6 million
The starting free safety has lost an entire 17-game season’s worth of time to injuries and a suspension since signing with the Saints two years ago, and now he’s entering the final year of his contract. But releasing or trading Maye before June 1 would save just $1.1 million against the cap, leaving the Saints on the hook for more than $8.4 million in dead money.
Another restructure is possible (saving up to $4.3 million) but Maye’s contract runs out in 2025 and that would put even more dead money on the books for next year. Waiting until June 2 to part ways is an option (it would save $7.2 million) but the Saints would have to keep him on the roster with a $9.6 million hit until then, which is untenable.
This looks like a situation where the team may give the player an option to either take a pay cut or be let go. Maye’s $7 million base salary is not guaranteed and reducing it would both save the team cap space and allow him to compete for his job over the summer.
James Hurst
2024 cap hit: $6.5 million
Hurst moved back to left guard after starting most of the 2022 season at left tackle, but he was a liability inside. He got beat too often in pass protection and wasn’t able to make headway on the run. He’s a solid backup who can plug into four of the five spots along the line but he shouldn’t be starting anymore at this stage in his career, but there are a couple of problems for the Saints there.
For one thing, they don’t have better options. Rookie draft pick Nick Saldiveri didn’t pick up the position-switch to left guard (from right tackle in college) quickly enough to play before suffering a season-ending injury. Street free agents were being signed onto the practice squad to play ahead of him.
For another thing, Hurst’s contract doesn’t reflect this status. Releasing him outright would save $4.2 million against the cap. Just $1.5 million of his base salary is guaranteed and he’ll get another $1.75 million roster bonus if he’s on the roster by March 18. Trading Hurst would save even more ($5.7 million) but the Saints would have to find a partner willing to cover his salary and that roster bonus. It’s possible they could value him highly enough as a backup to keep him at this level of pay, though, and we can’t rule out the possibility that he remains their best option to start at left guard.
Michael Thomas
2024 cap hit: $12.4 million
This is a different situation and wouldn’t really be a salary cap-minded move, but we’ll touch on it anyway. Derek Carr wasn’t as strong a fit with Thomas as many (including Thomas) expected, hesitating to throw on the in-breaking routes and slants that Thomas made his signature plays earlier in his career. Carr’s unwillingness to work to Thomas’ strengths makes this an unfavorable situation for him, so Thomas may need to explore his options in free agency and find a quarterback who can reliably get him the ball.
And the Saints built a unique structure for their contract with Thomas (and Jameis Winston, who we’ll get to in a moment). They must choose to either release Thomas prior to the start of the new league year with a post-June 1 designation (saving $1.2 million later this summer and leaving behind $11.1 million in dead money) or extend his contract. If they don’t touch his deal he’ll receive a $3.7 million roster bonus, further raising his cap hit. Expect him to reach free agency and entertain offers from other teams.
Jameis Winston
2024 cap hit: $4.5 million
Winston is in the same position as Thomas — if the Saints don’t extend or release him with a post-June 1 designation by March 16, he’ll be owed a whopping $107.2 million, making it a poison pill contract. That’s a hard deadline for them to make a decision. Releasing Winston with that designation would ultimately save $1.2 million, but not until June 2. Extending him is an option but you have to think he’d rather pursue other opportunities around the league than continue playing second-fiddle to Derek Carr. We’ll see if any offers materialize for him.
