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It’s always a tough scene for salary cap alarmists when the New Orleans Saints work out a long-term contract extension with their best players. Whether it’s Alvin Kamara, Michael Thomas, or now Ryan Ramczyk, the Saints always seem to find a way to navigate the salary cap and keep their blue-chip talent around. So how does Ramczyk’s new $96 million deal impact the Saints cap outlook?
Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap reports that the Saints cleared roughly $5.56 million in salary cap space by extending Ramczyk, which would reflect a decreased 2021 base salary from his fully-guaranteed fifth year option amount at $11.064 million plus the prorated charges for his new signing bonus. We’ll know specifically just what his new cap hit is once more details become available in the days ahead, but that’s a much-improved situation considering where the Saints started this offseason.
The end result: Ramczyk’s 2021 cap hit should now be set around $5.504 million, boosting the Saints’ cap space figure up to the ballpark of $11.39 million (New Orleans previously freed up some resources by restructuring Marshon Lattimore’s deal). That clocks in between the $11.3 million that the Arizona Cardinals have to work with and the Minnesota Vikings’ $13.5 million, and is more than enough to address their remaining roster moves ahead of training camp.
Some items will take priority, though. The Saints must sign Marcus Williams to an extension by July 15 or else he has to play out the season on the franchise tag. It would be good to re-up Lattimore with a team-friendly deal before the season starts, too; if his play rebounds to what he flashed earlier in his career, he’ll be a high-demand free agent next offseason. Waiting too long to extend either player is a gamble that could prove costly.
New Orleans should also consider adding a veteran corner to compete opposite Lattimore — they hosted Dre Kirkpatrick for a free agent visit and were connected to Richard Sherman back in March. Paulson Adebo has a long list of intriguing qualities, but he’s far from a lock to start right out of the gate. And that isn’t mentioning the areas of need on offense, where Adam Trautman is set to attempt an unprecedented leap at tight end while the Saints are another Michael Thomas injury away from Tre’Quan Smith being their leading receiver on game days. There’s plenty of room for growth on each side of the ball.
That’s why scratching this Ramczyk extension off the to-do list was so important. The Saints can shift gears and bring in more help while continuing to negotiate new deals with cornerstone players in the secondary. With a number of big-name free agents still set to test the market next year (namely Terron Armstead and Jameis Winston, in addition to Lattimore and Williams) it’s vital that the Saints continue to get out in front of as many hurdles as they can.
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