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Salary cap experts, amateur enthusiasts, and amateur experts have each taken aim at the New Orleans Saints for cooking the books year in and year out, but it’s tough to argue with the results. While teams like the 2-6 Atlanta Falcons and 3-4-1 Philadelphia Eagles have followed the 5-2 Saints’ lead with creative contract structuring to maximize spending in recent years, the Saints have worked around the cap while sustaining success on the field.
Part of that is thanks to bargain-bin free agent signings. Adding the right veterans at the right price has done a lot to help the Saints remain competitive in the twilight of Drew Brees’ career.
Rivers McCown for ESPN picked running back Latavius Murray as the Saints’ best veteran contract value, writing:
“Alvin Kamara is a deserving star back who won a big contract extension this season and immediately became the biggest part of the passing game. But the secret of the Saints’ offense is that pretty much any time they’ve turned to Murray over the past two years, there’s been no real drop-off. Murray was 13th in rushing DYAR in 2019 to Kamara’s 19th, and did so with a top-10 rushing DVOA to Kamara’s 15th. Murray is 17th in rushing DVOA to Kamara’s 14th through eight weeks. Murray has even added a 52.2% receiving DVOA in a small sample of 12 pass targets.”
Murray proved last year that he can be much more than Kamara’s backup, having rattled off a couple of 100-yard rushing games when Kamara was sidelined by injuries. And he’s rewarded the Saints when they’ve turned to him again this year, averaging 2.0 yards after contact per carry and converting a first down on 23.9% of his attempts. He’s dependable.
Unfortunately, Murray could be a trade candidate next year. McCown pointed out that his affordable contract and very-efficient stats might make him an enviable asset for other teams in 2021, especially in light of Kamara’s big contract extension.
While the Saints have done a great job of circumnavigating the salary cap, they will be facing their toughest challenge yet once it plummets next offseason after league financial losses due to COVID-19 come into effect. Hopefully Saints general manager Mickey Loomis, salary cap guru Khai Hartley, and their team will be working to mitigate a depressed cap’s impact against the backdrop of a second Super Bowl victory.
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