Tag: restructure

Packers restructure contract of LT David Bakhtiari, create more cap space in 2023

The Packers restructured the contract of left tackle David Bakhtiari to create salary cap relief in 2023.

The Green Bay Packers restructured the contract of left tackle David Bakhtiari to create $7.5 million in salary cap relief in 2023, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.

The Packers converted his $9.5 million roster bonus and another $5.5 million of base salary into a signing bonus to create the savings in 2023.

Bakhtiari’s cap number before the restructure was $28,789,035.

Per Bill Huber of SI.com, the restructure did not add void years to the deal.

Without void years, the restructure will save the Packers around $7.5 million on the salary cap and drop Bakhtiari’s cap number to roughly $21.3 million in 2023. The Packers will be sitting at roughly $24 million in available cap space entering the start of the new league year next week, per Over the Cap.

Despite missing all but one game in 2021 after a suffering a significant knee injury to end 2020, Bakhtiari finally returned to the field in 2022 and once again looked like an elite left tackle. He gave up 10 total pressures and zero sacks over 11 games, per PFF.

The Packers, with another restructure of his deal, are banking on Bakhtiari playing at a high level for at least two more seasons. His cap number rises over $40 million for the 2024 season.

Bakhtiari, who turns 32 in September, is under contract through 2024.

The Packers have restructured the contracts of Bakhtiari, running back Aaron Jones, cornerback Jaire Alexander, outside linebacker Preston Smith and defensive lineman Kenny Clark this offseason, creating over $40 million in salary cap relief.

Packers Wire will have more on the Bakhtiari restructure and the salary cap impact when the numbers are available.

[lawrence-related id=90382,90737,90599,90597,90380]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbxb1xg7g19wqdc player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

Report: Saints offered Jameis Winston a restructured contract to stay for 2023

ESPN’s Dianna Russini reports that Jameis Winston has been offered a restructured contract to stay with the Saints:

So this was unexpected. ESPN’s Dianna Russini reports that the New Orleans Saints have offered Jameis Winston a restructured contract to stay on the team for 2023. But they included a hard deadline of March 15 — the start of free agency and the new league year — for him to make a decision, or else he’ll be released.

Could Winston hang around as Derek Carr’s backup? Maybe, but he’s probably going to scope out the free agent market. If he sees the opportunity to compete for a starting job somewhere it wouldn’t make much sense for him to stay in New Orleans and hold a clipboard all season.

But it does make sense from the team’s perspective to make this offer. If the Saints cut Winston without using a post-June 1 designation, they’ll only save $4.4 million. If they do use that designation, they’ll have to keep his $15.6 million cap hit on the books until June 2, when they get $12.8 million in savings. That would be after free agency and after the draft when those resources would be put to the best use. Getting a midsummer windfall to sign your draft class is great, but it would be better to have that money in hand now so they can go sign veteran upgrades.

So redoing Winston’s deal to save money in the near future might make the most sense for New Orleans. But it might not be what’s best for Winston. He was benched due to injury last season and his relationship with team management frayed because of it. He could have a lot to gain by starting over fresh somewhere else. If the Saints are asking him to take a pay cut and reduce his base salary from $12.8 million to something in line with other backups, like Andy Dalton’s $3 million last year, he may choose to seek a better deal in another town.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

[stnvideo key=”Y33ER9t6lu-2597477-7618″ type=”float”]

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.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

[stnvideo key=”6QxQSjVTmB-2589609-7618″ type=”float”]

Taysom Hill’s restructured contract might make a Broncos trade tough to pull off

Taysom Hill’s restructured contract makes a trade tough to pull off. Time isn’t on Sean Payton’s side if he wants to make one of his favorite players a Bronco:

So how long will it take Sean Payton to trade for Taysom Hill? That’s been a common refrain in the weeks since Payton was hired as the Denver Broncos’ new head coach, and it’s easy to see why — he made no secret of his appreciation for Hill’s game when they were together on the New Orleans Saints. Hill was one of Payton’s favorite players in black and gold, and it kind of does feel like only a matter of time until he’s wearing navy and orange. He joked about trading for Hill before he even accepted Denver’s offer.

But the Saints’ decision to restructure Hill’s contract may have bought them some more time with No. 7. By converting most of Hill’s base salary into a signing bonus, they reduced his 2023 salary cap hit to just $6,869,000. But the downside (for interested Broncos fans, and possibly Payton) is that trading Hill now becomes cost-prohibitive for much of the offseason.

The Saints would have to fork over an addition $15,826,000 in salary cap penalties if they traded Hill before June 1 after this restructure, meaning he would be going to another team and leaving behind $22,695,000 in dead money on New Orleans’ spreadsheet. Denver would have to pay a ridiculously steep price in draft picks to make that worthwhile for the Saints. It just isn’t realistic, and it insures Hill will stay in New Orleans for the immediate future.

We aren’t out of the woods yet, though. If the Saints trade Hill after June 1, they will actually save a little money with a new team (like the Broncos) paying his $1,080,000 base salary. They’d be left with $5,789,000 in dead money this year and a staggering $16,906,000 next year, but they could be sweet-talked into accepting that if the compensation is strong enough. But you have to imagine Broncos general manager George Paton would step in and stop Payton from bartering with the first- or second-round picks it would probably take to get New Orleans to offload Hill.

And they didn’t have to do this restructure. If the Saints were open to trading Hill this offseason, it would have made more sense to leave his contract alone (with its $13,925,000 cap hit) until after June 1, at which point they could have traded him to another team like Denver and saved $9.9 million against the cap, fully getting him off their hands. That isn’t the route they chose, though.

So what does this mean? By restructuring Hill’s contract, the Saints have basically reinvested in him and made it clear that he’s in their plans moving forward. And he should be. There have been times when he was the most exciting player on the field with a fleur-de-lis on their helmet. He took over some games last season and proved he can be an asset with a heavier workload so long as the vision for his role is clear. Hopefully offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael doesn’t take so long to get him up to speed in 2023. The Saints are paying Hill too much money to have him on the sidelines.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

[stnvideo key=”ub6Dsi8N1c-2568946-7618″ type=”float”]

Saints restructure Demario Davis and Taysom Hill contracts in big step towards salary cap compliance

The Saints restructured their contracts with Demario Davis and Taysom Hill, taking a big step towards salary cap compliance:

Bang: the New Orleans Saints completed another big step towards getting under the 2023 salary cap by restructuring their contracts with Pro Bowl linebacker Demario Davis and do-it-all tight end Taysom Hill, per ESPN’s Field Yates, saving more than $12,724,000 against the 2023 salary cap.

As is often the case for these restructures in New Orleans, both players will receive a large chunk of their initial base salary in the form of a new signing bonus, which will toll over future seasons for accounting purposes.

This was another expected move, and it gets the Saints within punching distance of the salary cap — pretty soon they’ll be looking to open up spending-room beneath it, not just complying with league rules in reaching it. New Orleans is still over the cap by an estimated $18.1 million, but they can get in the clear with further restructures for cornerback Marshon Lattimore (saving over $10 million) and defensive end Cameron Jordan (opening up another $10 million), among other moves.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

[stnvideo key=”NY02CyybMO-2584476-7618″ type=”float”]

Andrus Peat gets dubious honor of a selection on Spotrac’s ‘All-Roster-Bubble Team’

Saints left guard Andrus Peat received the dubious honor of a selection on Spotrac’s ‘All-Roster-Bubble Team’ ahead of offseason NFL roster cuts:

The New Orleans Saints are hard at work restructuring contracts and discussing pay cuts or extensions with different players as they seek to reach salary cap compliance, but some outright releases could be on the way in the near future. Banged-up star wide receiver Michael Thomas appears to be on the way out (unless the Saints land free agent quarterback Derek Carr, maybe?) as a post-June 1 cut, and that’s also in play for Jameis Winston, New Orleans’ former starting quarterback.

But if either player stays with the Saints for 2023, oft-injured left guard Andrus Peat makes sense as another cuts candidate. Spotrac’s Michael Ginnitti put together an “All-Roster-Bubble Team” of the best players at each position who could be salary cap cut casualties in the weeks ahead, and Peat won the dubious distinction of making the list:

“Back-to-back restructures keep this contract difficult to move off from, but it seems a foregone conclusion anyway. A Pre 6/1 release only frees up $1.3M of cap space, while a Post 6/1 designation would open up $11.825M. The Saints have had players agree to base salary pay cuts in order to help facilitate a Post 6/1 move, and this feels like one of those situations. Dropping Peat’s deal down to the minimum for 2023 lowers his cap hit to $7.71M, a much more tenable number to have to carry through June 1st.”

Injuries have limited Peat to 17 appearances over the last 34 games, and he never completed a full 16-game season before the NFL expanded to a 17-week slate (twice playing 15 games, back-to-back in 2016 and 2017). The Saints will only receive modest salary cap savings by moving off of his contract, due to those past restructures, and they’ll probably only part ways with him if they choose to hold onto either Thomas or Winston instead. It’s a difficult problem they’ve made for themselves by doubling and tripling down on an aging player with durability concerns.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

[stnvideo key=”dDBpBZvvBU-2575118-7618″ type=”float”]

Packers restructure contract of OLB Preston Smith, save $6.7M on salary cap

The Green Bay Packers restructured the contract of outside linebacker Preston Smith and saved almost $6.7 million on the salary cap in 2023.

The Green Bay Packers restructured the contract of outside linebacker Preston Smith and saved almost $6.7 million on the salary cap in 2023, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Smith had a $7.5 million roster bonus for 2023 in his contract, which was reworked last offseason. The Packers can convert the roster bonus into a signing bonus and prorate the sum over the length of the deal, creating immediate savings in 2023 but adding to cap hits in future years. Teams can also convert base salary and add void years.

Smith’s cap hit was scheduled to be a little over $13 million before the restructure. His deal was tailor-made to be restructured this offseason given the roster bonus and the Packers’ need for cap space.

Smith is under contract through the 2026 season.

Last season, Smith delivered 8.5 sacks, 20 quarterback hits and nine tackles for loss over 17 games. He turns 31 in November.

[lawrence-related id=90597,90459]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbxb1xg7g19wqdc player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

How far away are the Saints from salary cap compliance?

How far away are the Saints from salary cap compliance? Their latest moves with Ryan Ramczyk and Wil Lutz covered a lot of ground:

The New Orleans Saints took a couple of important steps towards reaching salary cap compliance on Thursday, restructuring their deal with standout right tackle Ryan Ramczyk while agreeing to bring back struggling kicker Wil Lutz on a pay cut. These two moves saved a combined $11.8 million in salary cap space, leaving New Orleans over the 2023 salary cap by about $35.5 million.

Not bad considering they were over the cap by more than $58 million just a few weeks ago, and they haven’t lost a single player. With free agency on the horizon in March, it’s vital that the Saints continue to set up their books to keep their best talent in town and prepare for new additions. So what comes next?

We’ve outlined the many different roster moves and contract restructures available to the Saints this offseason, but there are a couple of obvious decisions ahead of them. Let’s recap them in brief:

  • DE Cameron Jordan: Restructure (saving $10,001,250) or extension (saving $10,668,000)
  • CB Marshon Lattimore: Restructure (saving $10,065,000)
  • LG Andrus Peat: Restructure (saving $7,995,000) or release with post-June 1 designation (saving $11,825,000)
  • QB Jameis Winston: Release with post-June 1 designation (saving $12,800,000)

Teams are allowed to release just two players with a post-June 1 designation, though, and that’s also a likely option for wide receiver Michael Thomas (saving $1,165,000), so it could be more feasible to restructure Peat’s deal and let him play it out. The point is that the Saints have several avenues ahead of them in reaching salary cap compliance, and these four moves alone would do it. After that, they’ll be looking to open up more room for signing free agents in the weeks ahead.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

[stnvideo key=”i7NNZCNnkb-2554047-7618″ type=”float”]

Embattled Saints kicker Wil Lutz returns on a pay cut for 2023

Embattled Saints kicker Wil Lutz is returning for 2023 after agreeing to a pay cut, though he can win it back through new contract incentives:

The New Orleans Saints have chosen to bring back their embattled kicker Wil Lutz for 2023, but on an important condition: that he agree to a pay cut. ESPN’s Field Yates first reported that the Saints reworked their deal with Lutz to save $1.5 million in salary cap space, which was confirmed by NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill — who adds that this was not a restructure. Instead of carrying a $3.4 million base salary for the upcoming season, Lutz is seeing just $1.9 million.

But he can earn much of it back through incentives added to his contract, per NOF’s Mike Triplett. If Lutz returns to form and does his job well in the fall, he won’t have lost any money. That’s a big “if,” though. He missed the entire 2021 season recovering from core muscle surgery and he looked rusty in 2022. Lutz did improve on extra point attempts, making all 33 of them, but his shakiness on field goals from varying distances was a problem throughout the season. He missed his first 44-yard field goal try in the Saints’ season-ending loss to the Carolina Panthers and had his second attempt (at a distance of 55 yards) blocked.

Of the 20 kickers to attempt 31 or more field goals last season, Lutz is one of four to have connected on fewer than 80% of their tries:

  • Wil Lutz (Saints): 23 of 31 (74.2%)
  • Cade York (Browns): 24 of 32 (75.0%)
  • Brandon McManus (Broncos): 28 of 36 (77.8%)
  • Greg Joseph (Vikings): 26 of 33 (78.8%)

Now Lutz carries the 12th-highest salary cap hit among NFL kickers at $4.12 million, having previously ranked 5th at $5.62 million. He’s in the final year of his contract and the Saints have already brought in some competition by signing Alex Quevedo to a reserve/future deal (he tried out for them last summer), and the lack of guarantees mean the Saints could save more money by releasing Lutz this summer if another kicker outplays him in training camp. He has a lot on the line in 2023.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

[stnvideo key=”i7NNZCNnkb-2554047-7618″ type=”float”]

Ryan Ramczyk agrees to Saints contract restructure, saving the team $10.3M

Ryan Ramczyk agrees to New Orleans Saints contract restructure, saving the team more $10.3 million against the 2023 salary cap:

The New Orleans Saints restructured their contract with right tackle Ryan Ramczyk to save more than $10.3 million against the 2023 salary cap, as first reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

ESPN’s Field Yates clarified that Ramczyk agreed to convert $12.92 million of his base salary (which had been valued at $14 million) into a singing bonus that will be spread out over the next few years, resulting in current-year savings of $10.336 million. It’s the same tactic the Saints used recently in restructuring their contracts with free safety Marcus Maye and starting center Erik McCoy. Another restructure with Ramczyk was one of several cap-minded roster moves we talked about last week.

This move makes sense — Ramczyk had the third-highest salary cap hit on the team at $21,441,321, so he’ll now be counting against the cap by about $11,105,321. That’s going to help the team reach salary cap compliance, retain talent, and afford new free agents this offseason without having to let go of one of their best players.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

[stnvideo key=”SV0rmCLe8r-2551118-7618″ type=”float”]