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This is interesting: ESPN’s Field Yates reported that the New Orleans Saints re-signed defensive end Carl Granderson, one of their exclusive rights free agents, but he later added that Granderson inked a two-year deal with the Saints rather than a typical one-year contract extension. That means he’ll be with New Orleans through 2022 and 2023, finally reaching unrestricted free agency in 2024.
That’s significant for a couple of different reasons, which we’ll get to in a second. Yates clarified that the Saints paid Granderson $4.3 million in addition to the $965,000 he qualified for as an exclusive rights free agent — that’s equal to what a second-round restricted free agent tender could be worth next year. So why did they do that?
For one, the Saints have now given Granderson a clear idea of how strongly they value him. If he had become a restricted free agent in 2023, they would have tendered him at that level. He’s ascending in their pass-rush rotation, and they think he’s about to have a great two-year stretch. For another, Granderson’s teammates Marcus Davenport and Tanoh Kpassagnon are each entering the final year of their contracts with the Saints, meaning they’ll hit free agency in 2023. This effectively means New Orleans has two fires to put out in 2023 rather than three.
But why sign him to a two-year extension rather than a three-year deal? That may benefit the team more if they view Granderson as a player on the rise, getting him under contract at a bargain, but it’s in Granderson’s interest to reach unrestricted free agency sooner rather than later. That’s where he is likely to find his biggest payday. So while he may appreciate the security in a three-year deal, his path to earning significantly more money makes a two-year deal more preferable. This suggests he and the Saints reached a compromise.
This wasn’t the only move the Saints made at defensive end on Thursday, though. Cameron Jordan restructured his contract to lower his salary cap hit from $23.1 million to just over $12.4 million, saving roughly $10.7 million against the cap. Jordan will still get that money — this isn’t a pay cut. Instead, he agreed to lower his base salary from $13.6 million to the minimum at $1.12 million, earning the difference back as a signing bonus. He gets his money now instead of later. And the Saints, for accounting purposes, get to defer those payments against the cap onto future years.
Thanks for sticking through that jargon (I never warned you there would be math). The end result is that Jordan will play for the Saints in 2022 at a lower price, and he’s now likely to finish his career in black and gold. New Orleans would still be paying him more than $23 million to not play for them in 2023 should he be released or traded next offseason. They could wait until after June 1, 2023 to move him (saving $15 million) but that would put a serious handicap on their cap flexibility during free agency and the draft.
So we should expect another move with Jordan next offseason in one way or another. An extension feels more likely than another restructure. Jordan’s contract is set to expire on March 12, 2024, making him a 35-year-old free agent and leaving more than $12.7 million behind in dead money. The Saints could sign him to a smaller-valued, multiyear extension that allows him to run up the score on the team sacks record (he currently trails the great Rickey Jackson by 8) that won’t weight down their salary cap figure once his playing days are over.
Then again, the Saints have accepted $11.5 million dead money charges for Drew Brees in both 2021 and 2022. And they’re set up to take another $12.9 million hit should Terron Armstead leave in free agency next week. If they don’t touch Jordan’s contract again (unlikely as that seems), his eventual dead money charge of $12.7 million does fall within the zone they’ve shown is acceptable. Let’s hope it doesn’t get to that, though.
That isn’t all, though. The Saints also restructured their quarterback with Tanoh Kpassagnon to save a little over $1.6 million. Because his contract already had some void years sewn into it, he’s now on pace to leave behind about $1.9 million should he leave in free agency next offseason. For context, he will have played on cap hits of $1.1 million and $1.5 million in two years with New Orleans. I would think an extension is in store to avoid paying him more not to play with the Saints, but that’s a bridge they plan to cross another day.
And this all surrounds the intrigue on Marcus Davenport, who is currently playing on his fifth year option and set to become a free agent next March just like Kpassagnon. Maybe the Saints don’t touch his contract, and prefer to let him play it out before discussing an extension. Maybe they restructure him like they did with past first rounders Marshon Lattimore (who later signed an extension anyway) and Sheldon Rankins (who didn’t). But in restructuring Jordan and extending Granderson, they have something to work with should Davenport end up leaving New Orleans once his contract expires. It’s important to remember that none of these moves are made in isolation. Everything influences something else.
So, to recap, here is where the Saints stand at defensive end going into the 2022 season, and when those players will be up for new deals:
- Tanoh Kpassagnon: under contract through March 7, 2023
- Marcus Davenport: under contract through March 15, 2023
- Carl Granderson: under contract through March 13, 2024
- Cameron Jordan: under contract through March 12, 2024
- Payton Turner: under contract through March 12, 2025 (pending his fifth-year option)
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