Tag: 2023 free agency

Saints salary cap space update after restructuring Demario Davis and Taysom Hill

We’re almost to the finish line. Updating the New Orleans Saints salary cap situation after restructuring Demario Davis and Taysom Hill:

So how much salary cap space do the New Orleans Saints have at their disposal after restructuring their contracts with linebacker Demario Davis and utility player Taysom Hill? Converting salaries to signing bonuses with each of them saved the Saints about $12.7 million, but they were over the cap by a substantial margin before knocking those items off their offseason checklist.

Well, they don’t have any spending room yet. The Saints are still over the 2023 salary cap by as much as $18.1 million, per Over The Cap (a more conservative estimate from Spotrac has New Orleans in the red by $17.2 million). But the finish line is within sight.

There are five players left with salary cap hits valued at more than $15 million, and the Saints will need to make a decision with each of them: restructure, extend, or release. Here’s the list:

  • DE Cameron Jordan: $25.7 million
  • CB Marshon Lattimore: $22.4 million
  • LG Andrus Peat: $18.3 million
  • RB Alvin Kamara: $16 million
  • QB Jameis Winston: $15.6 million

Wide receiver Michael Thomas also has a cap number of $13.3 million after previously redoing his deal, and the expectation is that he’s going to be released at the start of the new league year with a post-June 1 designation. He could return on a new deal at a significantly lower salary, but but that’s too far ahead to guess at. Teams may use that designation twice in advance of the June 1 deadline, and it’s an option for either Peat or Winston depending on how things shake.

Lattimore and Kamara should be easy calls to restructure given their age and productivity (and in Kamara’s case, it would prevent him from losing much money to a possible NFL suspension stemming from his Las Vegas battery case; weekly salaries are forfeited, but signing bonuses are not touched). Jordan could sign an extension, seeing as he’s in the final year of his contract, rather than doing a standard restructure which would leave a lot of dead money behind if he isn’t re-upped in 2024.

The Saints still have options. And that’s just how their salary cap guru Khai Harley likes it — he designs contracts with players to have all of these levers and mechanisms to work with years in advance, giving New Orleans salary cap flexibility that few teams can weaponize as effectively. Hopefully the Saints can get in the clear soon and open up more resources to put towards improving their roster when free agency kicks off on March 15.

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Report: Derek Carr ‘has a slight lean towards’ signing with Jets over Saints

ESPN reports Derek Carr ‘has a slight lean towards’ signing with the Jets over the Saints, but is it all just posturing to get a better deal?

We’ve reached the public negotiating phase of Derek Carr’s free agency. The New Orleans Saints the first team to engage with him on his way out with the Las Vegas Raiders, and they’ve kept up a heavy dialogue for weeks as he meets with other teams — but it may have not been enough to seal the deal.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that Carr “has a slight lean towards” signing with the New York Jets rather than the Saints after considering his options there, as well as in a meeting with the Carolina Panthers (who are better positioned to draft their new quarterback than sign one).

Now, this could simply be posturing on Carr’s part to pressure New Orleans into meeting his reported asking price of $35 million or more per year, or matching an offer from the Jets. Either way, it’s clear that the Saints are not his top choice, or else a deal would’ve already been completed.

But Carr isn’t the Jets’ first choice either. They’re waiting on Aaron Rodgers to come down from whichever mountain he’s summitted to decide whether to retire, green-light a trade to New York, or run it back one last time with the Green Bay Packers. It isn’t an ideal situation for anyone. Hopefully this situation gets resolved sooner rather than later. The Saints have other problems to address when the legal tampering window for unrestricted free agency opens on March 13.

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Report: Jimmy Garoppolo ‘a viable backup plan’ for Saints if they can’t sign Derek Carr

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that Jimmy Garoppolo is ‘a viable backup plan’ for the New Orleans Saints if they can’t sign their top choice Derek Carr:

The New Orleans Saints remain in hot pursuit of free agent quarterback Derek Carr, but they won’t panic if they miss out on the former Las Vegas Raiders Pro Bowler. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler shared some reasons for optimism from his sources in New Orleans, with an interesting caveat tacked on about soon-to-be-former San Francisco 49ers starter Jimmy Garoppolo, who becomes a free agent in just a few weeks:

The New Orleans Saints remain motivated to sign quarterback Derek Carr, who will take his free agency into next week. New Orleans believes it has made a compelling case to Carr, with solid pass-catching targets, a good defense and the chance to play in a dome at least 10 games per season. Carr is prioritizing the right fit, and once he commits to that, a potential contract will be hashed out. Garoppolo could be a viable backup plan for the Saints if things don’t work out.

But Fowler’s colleague Dan Graziano adds that Garoppolo is a runner-up for another team besides New Orleans; if Carr’s old Raiders team can’t pull off a blockbuster trade for mercurial Green Bay Packers superstar Aaron Rodgers, they’re expected to pivot to Garoppolo instead. With the wild-card New York Jets actively courting Carr and Rodgers, too (and sharing their own links with Garoppolo), it’s beginning to feel like this free agency cycle will be more of a game of musical chairs than anything.

What’s clearest is that the Saints have little intentions of starting a rookie quarterback in the season-opener. Going after proven veterans like Carr and Garoppolo as instant starters, and hopefully upgrades over Andy Dalton and Jameis Winston, means any first-year pro would have a Herculean task ahead of them in winning the starting job during training camp.

If all things were equal, Garoppolo might be seen as a more-appealing free agent quarterback than Carr — he’s actually won some playoff games during his nine-year career. But Garoppolo’s injury issues are highly concerning. He’s only played a full season’s worth of games once since he became a starter in the NFL, and he’s missed eight games over the last two years. He has real durability issues to worry with, which isn’t going to received warmly by a Saints fanbase who saw at least eight players listed on the injury report every week last season.

So hopefully the Saints can land Carr instead. He’s proven he can survive the grind of a 17-game schedule, and the Saints clearly have a lot to offer him. But they’re willing to use those same assets to try and recruit Garoppolo once his contract with San Francisco expires on March 15. Another upside to signing Carr instead is that he won’t factor into the compensatory draft picks formula like Garoppolo will, so if the Saints lose free agents like Kaden Elliss and Marcus Davenport to other teams they won’t jeopardize any compensation coming down the line. It’s just another factor to be mindful of in the weeks ahead.

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Bears 2023 free agency preview: Will Mike Pennel be back in rotational role?

Mike Pennel served in a rotational role along the defensive interior. But it’s hard to believe the Bears will bring him back in 2023.

NFL free agency will be here before we know it, and the Chicago Bears have plenty of players set to hit the market. From key starters to valuable reserves, general manager Ryan Poles will have important decisions to make about who to bring back.

Here at Bears Wire, we’re going through each individual player and breaking down their 2022 performance and whether or not they fit in the Bears’ long-term plans.

Next up is Mike Pennel, who served in a rotational role along the league’s worst defensive line in 2022. But with Chicago looking to overhaul the defensive line, does he factor into their plans?

10 moves the Bears should make in free agency

Free agency is just around the corner, and the Bears have some big needs to address. Here are some potential moves they should consider:

The Chicago Bears have some pressing needs to address heading into free agency as general manager Ryan Poles looks to retool arguably the league’s worst roster last season.

For Poles, he’s got plenty of resources — roughly $100 million in salary cap space to be precise — to retool this roster at a number of positions. He has some important decisions to make about big-name veterans hitting the open market and any in-house free agents worth bringing back, including running back David Montgomery.

With free agency just around the corner, we’re taking a look at 10 moves we’d like to see the Bears consider making to improve their roster:

Bear Necessities: Wide receivers praise Justin Fields at NFL combine

In our Sunday morning newsletter, some top wide receiver prospects made it clear they’d love to play with Bears QB Justin Fields.

This is our online morning newsletter, Bear Necessities. Subscribe to get the latest Bears news delivered to your mailbox every day.

What’s the latest with the Chicago Bears?

It’s been a busy week of action at the NFL Scouting Combine, including a number of top wide receiver prospects making it clear they’d love to play with Bears quarterback Justin Fields.

Here’s a look at the most recent and relevant Bears stories for the morning of March 5.

Report: Cowboys to place second-round tender on RT Terence Steele

The tender allows other teams to offer Steele a new deal, but gives Dallas the right to match it or take a 2nd-round pick as compensation. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The Cowboys are placing a second-round tender worth $4.3 million on right tackle Terence Steele.

Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News first reported the development Saturday, citing a person familiar with the team’s decision.

The 25-year-old came to Dallas as an undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech in 2020. The next season, he stepped in to replace La’el Collins during his suspension and stayed there even after Collins was eligible to return, sliding to left tackle only to fill in for an injured Tyron Smith. He’s been an every-game staple at right tackle ever since (prompting the release of Collins), but Steele was then lost in Week 14 of the 2022 season to a torn ACL.

Steele, reportedly “ahead of schedule” in his rehab, is a restricted free agent this offseason.

With a second-round tender, other teams have the right to reach contract terms with Steele by April 21. The Cowboys, however, retain the right to match that offer in order to keep him in-house. If they choose to let Steele go (to a club that offers him a ridiculous deal), the Cowboys would receive a second-round draft pick as compensation.

Cowboys Wire’s Reid Hanson laid out the nuts and bolts behind this strategy earlier this week.

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Bears 2023 free agency preview: Should Chicago bring back Michael Schofield?

Michael Schofield served as a key reserve along the interior of the Bears’ offensive line in 2022.

NFL free agency will be here before we know it, and the Chicago Bears have plenty of players set to hit the market. From key starters to valuable reserves, general manager Ryan Poles will have important decisions to make about who to bring back.

Here at Bears Wire, we’re going through each individual player and breaking down their 2022 performance and whether or not they fit in the Bears’ long-term plans.

Next up is Michael Schofield, who served as a key reserve along the interior of the offensive line for the Bears in 2022.

Bears 2023 free agency profile: RB Saquon Barkley

Saquon Barkley is a dynamic playmaker that would help Bears QB Justin Fields in a pivotal Year 3.

NFL free agency will be here before we know it, and the Chicago Bears have plenty of work to do. Luckily, general manager Ryan Poles has $100 million to work with to bring in some impact players as he looks to retool the roster.

Here at Bears Wire, we’re highlighting some potential free agent targets and breaking down their 2022 performance and whether or not they’re a fit in Chicago.

Next up is running back Saquon Barkley, who’s coming off off a bounce back year where he eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards for the third time in his career and showcased his playmaking ability on the Giants offense. If he hits free agency, would the Bears be a potential destination?