[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyahgz6p2j3xp7 player_id=none image=https://saintswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
Take a bow, Khai Harley. The New Orleans Saints salary cap expert worked the books to create enough room to sign the team’s 2021 NFL draft class — and then some. NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill first reported that the Saints signed their rookies by restructuring their contract with Marshon Lattimore, which was confirmed by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. It’s impressive considering the Saints were cap-compliant by only about $356,000, per Over The Cap’s experts.
Harley’s contributions are another feather in the cap for general manager Mickey Loomis, who was able to keep his cap guru in the front office when his coworker Terry Fontenot tried to recruit him to the Atlanta Falcons.
Rapoport clarified that the Saints converted all but $990,000 (the veteran’s minimum) of Lattimore’s 2021 salary cap hit into a signing bonus, which frees up $7.4 million in salary cap space. If the Saints don’t reach a deal with Lattimore on a long-term extension, he’ll leave a dead money charge worth about $6.9 million on the books in 2022.
But for now they have time to continue working on a new agreement, which Rapoport added is a priority. The Saints used this same mechanism last summer with Sheldon Rankins to create more cap space, though he ultimately left in free agency the following offseason. Hopefully things turn out better with Lattimore.
Remember, this isn’t a pay cut for Lattimore — he gets the money now in an up-front bonus rather than in weekly installments during the season, while the Saints can kick the can down the road.
In the meantime: all six of the 2021 Saints draft picks are now under contract, which the team announced following their first session of the week’s organized team activities. That includes defensive end Payton Turner, linebacker Pete Werner, cornerback Paulson Adebo, quarterback Ian Book, offensive lineman Landon Young, and wide receiver Kawaan Baker. It puts New Orleans at 85 of 90 roster spots filled, and now they have the resources to make a few more additions.
[lawrence-related id=45557,44015,45495,45486]
[listicle id=45617]