Tag: Extension

Demario Davis has made his retirement plans, but he isn’t leaving just yet

Demario Davis has made his retirement plans. He knows exactly how many more seasons he wants to play in the NFL, hopefully with the Saints:

How much longer will Demario Davis play for the New Orleans Saints? He gave a definitive answer to Matt Moscona for After Further Review: “My goal is to do three more years and then I’m out of here.”

Davis is in an interesting place in both his career and his positioning with the team. The Saints are more than likely going into a youth movement. Davis remains one of the best players on the Saints’ defense. If there were a veteran to predict would be safe, it’s him. There’s still the unpredictability factor of a new coach wanting to clean house.

For the first time in five years, Davis didn’t make an Associated Press All-Pro team. For all of the criticism that he has received this year, Davis still received an All-Pro vote. He still played at a high level, but he didn’t perform to the standard he set over his tenure with the Saints.

Because of that, you’ll often hear that he’s losing a step. He’s 36 years old and the oldest linebacker in the NFL, so his athleticism taking a dip is to be expected. He isn’t performing poorly, however. An athlete playing well but not at the standard they previously set is a difficult thing to grapple with.

Davis isn’t in the position where you are placing him in the “farewell tour” category, but you are preparing for life after him or getting an athletic linebacker to pair with him.

Davis plans on three more seasons and told Moscona, “I’m not planning on no drop-off going out of here.” That would place him near 40 years old and we’ve already seen a slight drop off in athleticism. We should also point out his contract expires after the 2025 season, so he’ll need another extension to bring this vision to fruition.

There seemed to be an uptick in physicality this year. Allowing Davis to not have to be as rangy by pairing him with an athletic partner could allow him to be equally as effective. It won’t be as flashy, but it could help Davis and the Saints defense in the long run.

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2024 Saints free agent report cards: Was Lucas Patrick a good signing?

Taking a look back at the 2024 offseason, was Lucas Patrick a good signing for the Saints? He played some important snaps at left guard:

The NFL offseason grows ever closer by the day, and as the New Orleans Saints look towards the future under a new head coach, there is also some time to look in retrospect at their 2024 offseason. While they only had a couple of signings and departures, it is worth taking a look at how each of those panned out during the season.

One of their more notable 2024 signings was left guard Lucas Patrick, who ended up being the starter for the large majority of the time he was available and was an intriguing piece throughout the course of the year. Let’s take a look at his contract, 2024 season, and give the signing a grade:

Free agent contract

Lucas Patrick signed one of the more simple contracts when it comes to the Saints, with a one-year deal worth $1,210,000 with $324,000 guaranteed. Among the left guards in the 2024 season, this was the 38th largest contract of 94, so near starting value as he almost made the top 32.

There are no additional void years or additions as it was a smaller scale contract, so the Saints have full flexibility to let him walk or bring him back if they wish to do so.

Snap counts

Patrick has had a very split snap count in his career, as early on he did not get many at all, but then he started getting significantly more in recent years. Here are his offensive snap totals for each season, only including games he played in:

  • 2017: 29% (227)
  • 2018: 29% (278)
  • 2019: 15% (137)
  • 2020: 90% (939)
  • 2021: 82% (911)
  • 2022: 65% (269)
  • 2023: 88% (958)
  • 2024: 79% (563)

2024 season review

2024 was a solid season for Patrick, not his best but absolutely one of his best, and it went heavily under the radar due to the time he missed with injury. In his 11 games played (10 started), he allowed 0 sacks, 10 pressures, and had 3 penalties, good for a 98.4% pass blocking rate. This type of production is exceptional, especially when dealing with injuries later in the season that made things difficult on him. 

Report card grade

Overall this was a solid signing for the Saints, given the price and production both being solid. The six games missed makes it tough to go higher than where we have him graded, however it was definitely a season worth following up with another one-year deal. Given he was expected to be replacement-level or a low-end starter, he had an exceptional season statistically and worked well with the offensive line in place.

Signing Grade: B-

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2024 Saints free agent report cards: Was Chase Young a good signing?

Taking a look back at the 2024 offseason, was defensive end Chase Young a good free agent signing for the Saints?

The New Orleans Saints have desperately needed an influx of talent along the defensive line for a few seasons now, and despite their attempts to fix that through the draft vis-à-vis the selections of Payton Turner and Isaiah Foskey, it has not panned out how they expected.

In the 2024 offseason, they tried at a different method of adding talent, signing defensive end Chase Young to a one-year deal. With him coming off a neck injury and requiring surgery to get back to where he needed to be, the Saints took the shot on him with a short contract.

With the 2025 offseason nearly upon us, we will first take the opportunity to look back at the 2024 signings and grade them based on their first season with the black and gold. So without further ado, we begin with arguably their biggest signing of the offseason.

Free agent contract

Young was signed by the Saints to a 1-year, $13 million deal last offseason, with $12.55 million being guaranteed. This contract was the 26th largest contract at his position among the 244 signed defensive ends/edges in 2024. His cap hit did get split partially into 2025 however, with his 2024 cap number at $3,912,000 and his 2025 cap number at $9,088,000. 

The 2025 number was via a prorated signing bonus, so if Young were to leave this offseason, it would count towards the dead cap figure. If he were to return on a new contract it would be added onto that new deal, and would be able to be spread out further over the life of that instead.

Snap counts

When it comes to career snap counts for Chase Young, he has been utilized pretty heavily. Here is his defensive snap rate for each season of his career, only counting games he played in:

  • 2020: 78% (770)
  • 2021: 80% (477)
  • 2022: 65% (115)
  • 2023: WAS 84% (407), SF 58% (328)
  • 2024: 63% (742)

As you can see, he has always been a pretty heavily played pass rusher when on the field, but years like 2022 stand out where he missed all but three games, and 2021 where he played in nine.

2024 season review

2024 was a relatively solid season for Young, and while it was not as strong as his rookie season in 2020, he was making a positive impact all season long. This was the first season of his career where he has played every game, and in that span had 5.5 sacks, 31 total tackles (21 solo, 10 assisted), 8 tackles for loss, 21 QB hits, 66 pressures, 3 pass deflections and a forced fumble. 

Overall he performed better in the second half of the season as he grew more accustomed to the system. While the Saints are looking for a new head coach entering 2025, if he were to return it would likely benefit him to get a jump start and have a full offseason process.

Report card grade

Grading this signing is a little difficult, as on one hand Young was enormously impactful in many key statistics, but the sack number being only 5.5 is slightly underwhelming. This defense needs someone who can get the quarterback on the ground more than anything at the moment, and despite Young being exceptional at getting into the pocket, he had a tough time finishing the rep fast enough to get the quarterback down.

Regardless, for a one-year rental and only 13 million dollars spent, this was a strong season for Young. If he could be brought back for that range on multiple years it would be a positive, and that’s all you could ask for.

Signing Grade: B+

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Saints extending Cameron Jordan named team’s worst mistake since 2020

What was the New Orleans Saints’ worst mistake since 2020? ESPN’s Bill Barnwell argues it was extending Cameron Jordan last summer:

A lot has gone wrong for the New Orleans Saints since the end of the Drew Brees-Sean Payton era and a lot of their problems can be brought back to their money issues.

When they were winning, it was easy to defend their unusual cap practices as it kept them afloat. Now that the Saints are at the bottom of the league, some decisions stick out like a sore thumb.

ESPN’s Bill Barnwell recently ranked each team’s worst decision since the 2020 season and for New Orleans at No. 23, it had to do with an extension given to a franchise legend. Back in 2023, the Saints signed Cameron Jordan to a two-year, $27.9 million extension. The results have not been ideal. Here was what Barnwell had to say about it:

Had the Saints had a healthy cap situation, they could have let his deal play out and expire after 2023. Instead, because they needed to get their cap right in previous years, they repeatedly restructured his deal, leaving a potential dead money hit. To avoid that, they gave him a two-year deal with $14 million guaranteed at signing, with virtually all of that coming in 2024. They’ll also owe Jordan $1.5 million more in 2025. When they cut him after this season, they will still owe $24 million in dead money.

Jordan is a legend in New Orleans and will forever be loved by the team and the city. It is clear that he is not as effective as he once was and is hard to justify keeping around, though it remains to be seen whether the team will release him or if he’ll choose to retire. He has just five sacks since the start of 2023 and two of them came last week against the Washington Commanders.

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Alvin Kamara is putting the team on his back in a unique 2024 season

Alvin Kamara is the only player in the NFL this season leading his team in both rushing yards and receiving yards. His extension only looks better by the day:

The NFL in recent years has been heavily driven by the wide receiver market, with the top two non-quarterback salaries for the 2024 season being Justin Jefferson at $35 million and CeeDee Lamb at $34 million. This is because the receiving and passing game has become more and more utilized in recent years, and receivers have become even more valuable at the top end.

However, some running backs stand out among the crowd as valuable in both the ground game and the receiving game, most notably Christian McCaffrey in recent years, as well as New Orleans Saints star Alvin Kamara.

Kamara had a tough few years with the injuries he had piling up, and an extension seemed far away at best. Yet, in 2024, he has shown exactly why he deserved and got one. He is the only player in the NFL entering Week 15 to lead his team in both rushing and receiving yards in 2024, with 485 receiving yards and 938 rushing yards.

He is first in the league in receiving yards at the RB position as well, showing how premier this season has been for him. All of that is great, but he has also done it with 0 fumbles, one of only three running backs in the top-10 for rushing yards to accomplish that this year, alongside Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson.

With Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and Bub Means all going down from the receiver room, someone needed to step up and handle the receiving part of the offense, and Kamara has done so without a doubt.

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Richard Sherman says the Seahawks should extend Geno Smith, and he’s right!

Richard Sherman says the Seahawks should extend Geno Smith, and he’s right!

The Seattle Seahawks have a quality quarterback in Geno Smith, and for some reason the fan base seems divided on him. There are those who recognize he has been consistently good since he became the starter. On the flip side, there are those who want to see the team find an upgrade (regardless of whether there is one available) despite the fact Smith has the most game-winning drives in the NFL since he became a starter.

This debate is only going to intensify in a few short months when the impending offseason eventually arrives. Smith is currently in the second year of a three-year deal he signed prior to the 2023 season. His contract was restructured last February, and as a result he has no more guaranteed money left for his final year. Smith has already approached the team for an extension, and will surely do so again at some point this offseason.

Among those who are unsure of what the team should do, there is one who most assuredly is not: former Seahawks legend Richard Sherman.

Sherman recently had Smith on his podcast, and Sherm made his position crystal clear as to what the Seahawks should do with their quarterback. Five words: pay the man his money!

Sherm brings up a great point about the 2025 NFL draft and Seattle’s possible positioning. The Seahawks are simply winning far too many games, even at this point, to be one of the teams near the top of the draft. Smith’s strong play has ensured that, and will continue to do so for the rest of the 2024 campaign. Additionally, next year’s quarterback draft class does not appear to be as robust as the one we saw this past spring.

If the Seahawks aren’t able to get a quarterback in the draft they absolutely love, then the other options are free agency or trade. Well, they already tried the “let’s trade for a quarterback” route with Sam Howell last year. As familiar with the system as Smith is, if Howell had blown coaches minds in training camp/the preseason I have to believe he would have been starting by now. As for free agency, teams typically don’t let Pro Bowl caliber quarterbacks test the market.

Seattle is obviously going to have to be focused on finding a quarterback for the future given the fact Smith is 34 years old. It is basic NFL age math. But they also need a quarterback for the right now as well. A quarterback who shows up in the biggest moments, has great arm talent, and is a clear leader.

An extension does not mean a team is married to a player forever. For a player like Smith, it just ensures there is stability and continuity at the most important position in all of sports. It would also allow them to focus continuing to rebuild their offensive line in the draft.

At this point, I am in full agreement with Richard Sherman.

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Broncos kept Jonathon Cooper’s contract quiet, but there was a clue

The Broncos kept Jonathon Cooper’s contract extension quiet, but there was a clue on social media.

The Denver Broncos made a statement last Saturday when they gave outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper a four-year, $60 million contract extension. With that deal, Denver declared that Cooper is the team’s top pass rusher going forward. That declaration was made quietly, though.

Perhaps not wanting to upset any trade talks, the Broncos did not leak Cooper’s extension until after they agreed to trade fellow outside linebacker Baron Browning to the Arizona Cardinals on Monday.

With both players scheduled to become free agents in 2025, Denver opted to keep Cooper instead of Browning. That decision was made official with Cooper’s extension on Saturday, but the team kept it quiet while finalizing the Browning trade.

There was a social media clue that the deal was done over the weekend, but nobody could be blamed for missing it (Broncos Wire didn’t notice it until after Cooper’s extension).

Cooper took to Twitter/X on Sunday evening to respond to Devin Jackson’s three-year-old story about Cooper’s football journey.

“I don’t usually look up articles of myself or read them if it’s positive but I just wanted to say thank you for this and thank you for helping me remember where I came from,” Cooper tweeted Jackson on Sunday.

After getting an extension, it seems that Cooper was reflecting back on his journey to the NFL. That was perhaps the first public clue that the pass rusher had received an extension from the Broncos.

Denver now has Cooper signed through the 2028 season.

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Alvin Kamara puts pen to paper on his new Saints contract extension

Alvin Kamara put pen to paper on his new Saints contract extension, emphasizing how it feels to have his loyalty reciprocated:

It’s been a big week for Alvin Kamara. The New Orleans Saints running back signed a two-year contract extension tying him to the team through 2026, giving him the opportunity to finish his career with the team that drafted  him. And for Kamara, it was great to see the loyalty he’s expressed be reciprocated.

“This city has been loyal to me. This organization has been loyal to me. I don’t feel like I would get this same feeling I get putting on the fleur-de-lis anywhere else,” Kamara told reporters this week.

Kamara did everything he could to emphasize his loyalty to the team by working hard every day at training camp (and not holding out), being a good leader and positive locker room influence, and even playing through injury.  And his efforts were recognized. Saints head coach Dennis Allen praised Kamara’s approach throughout the process.

“I think he handled it the right way,” Allen said. “He has been very productive for us and this year, he has been outstanding for us. He’s come in every day and gone to work, done the things we’ve asked him to do, so when you do those things you get rewarded.”

Now the five-time Pro Bowler gets to finish his career in black and gold. Kamara turned 29 in July and he has the rest of 2024, all of 2025 and a penultimate 2026 season to continue building his legacy. Will he keep going after that? We’ll see. But for now, this is a win for him. No wonder he was all smiles when signing his contract.

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Early extension saved Saints a ton of money against the 2025 salary cap

An early extension with Alvin Kamara saved the Saints a ton of money against the 2025 salary cap. Next year’s cap gymnastics just got easier:

Now that’s some crafty accounting, but we’ve come to expect it from the New Orleans Saints. Alvin Kamara reached an agreement on a two-year extension with the Saints this week, and NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports that the move is saving the team some money when it comes to the 2025 salary cap. Kamara’s early extension opened up about $18 million in savings on next year’s spending limit.

So how did the Saints manage to pay Kamara more money while spending less against the cap? We’ll know more when further details are shared about his deal’s structure, but NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill shares that it includes a $15.5 million signing bonus and $22.23 million in guarantees.

Kamara was initially on the books for 2025 at a staggering cap hit north of $29 million, with $25 million of it non-guaranteed, which made him a possible salary cap casualty. Instead, the Saints guaranteed a big portion of it but spread it out as a signing bonus (likely with their signature automatically-voiding “ghost years” tacked on).

The end result? Kamara’s 2025 cap hit should now fall at around $11 million, which is very manageable. And the Saints should now have somewhere close to $324 million in cap liabilities. Depending on where you look the 2025 salary cap is projected to rise to as high as $273 million, though more conservative models put it at just $260 million. The Saints still need to clear  at least $64 million before they can turn to signing new players, but that’s a problem for another day.

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Breaking: Saints, Alvin Kamara agree on a two-year extension

Breaking: Saints, Alvin Kamara agree on a two-year extension

This is big: NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reports that Alvin Kamara and the New Orleans Saints have agreed to terms on a two-year extension valued at $24.5 million that puts him under contract through 2026. The deal puts Kamara in position to retire with the team that drafted him out of Tennessee back in 2017, and it puts him on track to continue chasing that spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame he so badly covets.

Garafolo adds that Kamara’s new deal replaces the $25 million in non-guaranteed money he was due in 2025. Instead, he receives $22 million in guarantees with an extra year tacked on. NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill confirmed the news, observing that Kamara’s reported average annual value clocks in at about $12.25 million per year, just beneath the $12.5 million Saquon Barkley is earning from the Philadelphia Eagles,

Kamara has already won a host of awards and records in his storied NFL career. The five-time Pro Bowl running back tied a league record for the most touchdowns scored in a single game (6), and he’s also tied with the great Marshall Faulk for the most successful two-point conversions in league history (7). The 2017 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year already owns Saints franchise records for touchdowns scored (85 and counting) and rushing touchdowns (60, with more to come), and he’s closing in quickly on the career rushing yards record set by his close friend Mark Ingram II (he’s 234 yards away). If he can go the distance, it’ll be tough to keep him out of Canton when it’s all said and done.

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