Tag: guaranteed

Chase Young undergoes neck surgery after signing with the Saints

Chase Young underwent neck surgery after signing with the Saints. He isn’t expected to be ready for training camp:

This sure dampens the mood for New Orleans Saints fans. Their team’s shiny new free agent acquisition is going on the mend until July — if not longer. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Chase Young underwent neck surgery after signing a one-year, fully-guaranteed $13 million contract with the team.

Schefter says that while Young is expected to return in time for the start of the regular season in September, recovery from this procedure will “sideline him into training camp.” So fans shouldn’t expect to even see Young on the practice field until August. Young played through the injury last season for two different teams but requires this now procedure in order to continue his career.

While Schefter says that teams were aware of this medical situation, and that “the Saints were comfortable moving ahead with it,” it’s very disappointing for a team with such a lengthy history of injuries at the defensive end position. Marcus Davenport and Payton Turner, both first-round draft picks, spent extensive time in trainer’s room early in their careers. Young is quite literally following in their footsteps. Hopefully everything will go as planned so that Young can hit the field in Week 1 and make a positive impact.

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Reggie Bush asks: Lamar Jackson, why not sign with New Orleans?

Saints legend Reggie Bush asks the question that’s on everyone’s mind: Lamar Jackson, why not sign with New Orleans?

It’s good to see Reggie Bush embraces the ABC philosophy — Always Be Cruitin’. The fan-favorite former New Orleans Saints running back asked the question that’s been on everyone’s mind: Lamar Jackson, why not sign with New Orleans?

Jackson, the 2019 league MVP, has been locked in negotiations with the Baltimore Ravens on a long-term extension centering on his contractual guarantees. He’s outperformed Deshaun Watson and Kirk Cousins, both of whom received fully-guaranteed contracts with the Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings, respectively, and he wants a fully-guaranteed deal of his own. While the Ravens have been willing to match his per-year salary demands, they haven’t shown an eagerness to max out the guarantees.

Could the Saints go the distance, if given the opportunity? Odds are strong that the Ravens will use the franchise tag to keep Jackson in Baltimore for the 2023 season, which will give them some additional means of holding onto him. The Ravens could either match a contract offer Jackson receives from New Orleans (or any other team) or receive a couple of first-round draft picks if he leaves.

Still, the Saints should at least make a run at him. Jackson is a more effective and better established passer than Watson was this time last year, when New Orleans made every effort to trade all of those draft picks and pay him a top-tier salary heavily laden with guarantees. Hypothetically, they could take the resources earmarked for Watson and put them towards a quarterback who’s worth the investment, and who doesn’t bring a cloud of dozens of accusations of sexual misconduct in his wake.

But Watson would probably be playing for the Saints if they had been willing to pay him a fully-guaranteed contract like Cleveland did. If they weren’t going to take that final big step then, we probably shouldn’t expect them to do so now.

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Details on ex-Saints CB Eli Apple’s contract with the Panthers

Ex-Saints and -Giants cornerback Eli Apple agreed to a contract with the Panthers worth half of what the Raiders offered him in free agency.

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It took a while, but former New Orleans Saints cornerback Eli Apple cashed in on a one-year contract worth $3 million, as first reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Rapoport adds that this agreement includes a $750,000 signing bonus. Remember, the NFL’s cutoff date for 2021 compensatory pick qualifiers has passed, so the Saints will not recoup assets now that Apple has joined another team.

Apple initially agreed to terms on a $6 million deal with the Las Vegas Raiders early in free agency, but those contract talks fell apart before pens could be put to paper.

Acquired by the Saints in a 2018 trade with the New York Giants, Apple experienced an up-and-down 27 games with the Saints, including the postseason. He intercepted just two passes in black and gold while logging more than 1,500 defensive snaps, drawing 21 penalties (five of them offsetting or declined) along the way.

While he started the 2019 season strong, Apple’s confidence appeared shaken in an ugly Thanksgiving Day game against Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley. Apple was fouled three times in that game for defensive pass interference, and was benched later in the season once the Saints claimed his former Giants teammate Janoris Jenkins off waivers.

Odds are good that Apple could start for the Panthers and face the Saints twice in 2020. His competition includes veteran cornerbacks Donte Jackson and rookie fourth-round pick Troy Pride Jr.

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Details on Taysom Hill’s contract extension with the Saints

The New Orleans Saints signed Taysom Hill to a contract extension averaging more than $10 million per year, making him a highly-paid backup.

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Here’s a bombshell: the New Orleans Saints signed backup quarterback, special teams ace, and do-it-all weapon Taysom Hill to a contract extension through the 2021 season on Sunday. Per Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports, Hill is cashing in with a two-year deal valued at $21 million, with $16 million in guarantees and another $1 million in incentives.

That’s an average of $10.5 million per year, with 76% of the new money guaranteed. It’s a significant payout for a backup passer — making Hill by far the NFL’s highest-paid No. 2 — but as we’ve seen before, he’s much more than a clipboard-holder on the sidelines. Hill influences the game in a number of unique ways for the Saints, so they’re really paying him for a wide range of responsibilities beyond wearing a headset.

The Saints are also paying Hill a salary that suggests he’ll be more than a backup. He’ll get a real shot at competing for the starting quarterback job in 2021 if Brees retires.

We don’t know how much of those guarantees are tied to a signing bonus, so it’s tough to forecast Hill’s annual salary cap hits. And it makes learning how this contract is structured even more fascinating. The Saints often use automatically voided years to spread out salary cap resources, and that could come into play again with Hill (especially considering that the Saints have just over $4 million in 2020 cap space to work with right now).

However it shakes out, Hill won’t test the free agent market until March 2022 at the soonest.

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Andrus Peat contract structure might give Saints an early way out

The New Orleans Saints signed Pro Bowl left guard Andrus Peat to a five-year contract extension, but the deal’s structure may cut it short.

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The New Orleans Saints lit up the fan base early in free agency with a controversial five-year, $57.5 million contract extension with left guard Andrus Peat. While Peat has twice made the Pro Bowl as an alternate, high-variance performance and a still-growing injury history gave many fans cause about committing so many resources to someone who was viewed as replaceable.

For the detractors: there’s reason to think the Saints may share some of their concerns, based off the structure in Peat’s contract. Of that $57.5 million total, just $33.85 million of it is guaranteed, including a $13 million signing bonus prorated over the length of the deal. But what’s interesting is a trigger written into it in 2021.

Peat’s base salary for 2022 ($10.85 million) will become fully guaranteed on the third day of the 2021 league year, giving the Saints a three-day window in which to make a decision. If Peat has not played up to expectations in 2020, they will have an opportunity to get out of his contract through a possible trade (freeing up just $1.2 million in cap space) or post-June 1 cut (saving nothing in 2021, but creating plenty of spending room down the road by prorating).

However, it’s more likely that the Saints will ride out the first three years of Peat’s contract. The savings don’t really make getting rid of him worth it until 2022 at the soonest, especially when those savings are counted against the dead money his contract would leave behind (meaning checks the Saints must write to a player not on their roster). This graph illustrates why it may take some time for the savings of life without Peat may be worth the trouble:

In other words: the view won’t be worth the climb until 2022 at the earliest, and likely not until 2023 (when cutting him would free up $9.225 million against the cap while leaving just $5.2 million behind in dead money). So Peat can safely be penciled in as the starting left guard in New Orleans for the next three seasons. That’s not ideal for those who didn’t want to see Peat connected long-term with the Saints, but a three-year contract is better than a five-season deal.

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Updated reports say Janoris Jenkins signed two-year extension with Saints

Initial reports claimed Janoris Jenkins renegotiated a contract including voided years, but he will play for the Saints on a long-term deal.

A downside to the NFL’s new work-from-home practices in reaction to the coronavirus pandemic might be that information travels a little slower than it used to. With so many important figures working remotely — including general managers and head coaches, team contract negotiators, agents representing players, and the players themselves — it takes a bit longer for news to travel through the grape vine. There’s simply fewer eyes in the room to leak the details on which offers were on the table.

That’s the case for the New Orleans Saints and cornerback Janoris Jenkins, who NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported agreed to a two-year contract extension paying out $16.75 million in new money; combined with his current deal, that looks like a three-year $27 million agreement with $10.2 million in guarantees.

It’s also a big shift from the previously-reported news that Jenkins and the Saints did not reach an agreement on a long-term deal, instead settling on a restructure that created short-term salary cap space while allowing Jenkins to test free agency in 2021. We know now that’s not the case, and Jenkins will play for the Saints after next year.

So how does this new deal impact the Saints salary cap situation? Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reported Jenkins will count for the following salary cap hits:

  • 2020: $5.05 million
  • 2021: $14.2 million
  • 2022: $8.75 million

However, these essentially work out like team options in the next few years, because the Saints can cut Jenkins with little financial penalty should he not play up to expectations (or fall off a cliff, talent-wise; he’ll be 34 in 2022, an age few corners perform well at). Per Over The Cap, the Saints can save $8.2 million in 2021 and $5.75 million in 2022 by releasing Jenkins, should they choose to do so.

So all in all, this is a much better deal for the Saints than what was initially reported. They’ve saved salary cap space this year and will get a return on their investment by having someone on their payroll actually play for them. For Jenkins, he gets some stability (and an instant $9 million payout) and the opportunity to stick with a team he obviously enjoyed playing for last season.

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Details on Eli Apple’s Raiders contract, Saints comp pick implications

The Las Vegas Raiders inked New Orleans Saints free agent Eli Apple to a one-year prove-it contract, giving the Giants ex-pat another chance

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The New Orleans Saints lost starting cornerback Eli Apple to the Las Vegas Raiders, who signed the free agent to a one-year, $6 million contract. Per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, that $6 million is fully guaranteed with a further $500,000 available in incentives.

This is essentially a prove-it contract for Apple, who played at a decent level for the Saints for much of the 2019 season. But when injuries and suspensions struck the secondary — taking number-one cornerback Marshon Lattimore and nickel corner P.J. Williams off of the field — Apple folded under the added responsibilities and was fouled six times in three games, including three penalties for defensive pass interference on Thanksgiving against the Atlanta Falcons.

A late-season ankle injury and the pickup of Janoris Jenkins off the waiver wire pushed Apple further down the depth chart, and now off the Saints roster. It’s hardly the result the team imagined when they swapped a 2019 fourth-round pick and a seventh rounder in 2020 to acquire him from the New York Giants, who drafted him tenth overall out of Ohio State back in 2016. So how does his loss impact the compensatory draft pick formula?

Those selections are awarded based off of whether a team signs fewer unrestricted free agents than it loses, so Apple’s $6 million salary being valued as a sixth-round pick in 2021 cancels out the addition of Emmanuel Sanders at $8 million per year. The Saints have also lost quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (at $21 million per year, qualifying for a third-round pick) and linebacker A.J. Klein ($6 million per year, sixth rounder).

It’s unclear whether safety Malcolm Jenkins will factor in, but if he did his $8 million salary would wipe out the sixth-round selection garnered by losing Klein. Because Jenkins had his 2020 contract option declined by the Philadelphia Eagles, he should count against the Saints; if he had been cut instead, he would not factor into the equation. Changes in the new collective bargaining agreement make this a little more confusing than it’s been in the past.

The Saints also signed fullback Michael Burton, an unrestricted free agent, but his near-minimum salary will not count against the Saints’ other losses. For now, we’re conservatively predicting that the Saints will be awarded a third-round pick in 2021 for Bridgewater, while sixth-round selections for Klein and Apple will be wiped out by the signings of Sanders and Jenkins. Keep an eye out for Vonn Bell’s landing spot, which should also qualify for a compensatory pick in next year’s draft.

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