Nick Easton will be a cap casualty for the Saints in 2021

The New Orleans Saints have a solid offensive line, but they may have to get rid of a few expendable pieces due to their insane cap situation.

This offseason, the New Orleans Saints, a franchise that has the least cap space at their disposal in the NFL, are going to have to make some tough decisions as to who stays and who goes.

While it’s not one they want to make, their cap situation is known around the league, and the Saints are going to have to fix it.

There are a few easy options. Getting Brees’ salary down, especially if he retires or restructuring contracts with players like Janoris Jenkins are things the Saints can do. There are other avenues that Mickey Loomis will look into as well.

At some point, they’re going to just have to let players go, and one of the players with a high salary cap number and a lower-than-expected impact on a top-tier offensive line is veteran guard Nick Easton.

“Center/guard Nick Easton’s $6.5 million 2021 salary (on a $6.875 million cap number) is too much for a backup. His departure would create $5.875 million of cap room,” CBS Sports’ Joel Corry wrote when diving into how the Saints can fix their $100 million cap problem.

Releasing Easton would make quite a bit of sense. Freeing up that $5.875 million and taking that million-dollar hit is worth it for a roster that has taken a lineman with their first selection in the last two drafts.

They’ll need Cesar Ruiz to step up, and if Andrus Peat goes down like he typically does at some point in the season, they’ll be in a sticky situation. But, it’s one that, at the end of the day, they’ll just have to deal with them or opt to draft a capable guard.

Easton wasn’t a starter as Ruiz, Erik McCoy, Terron Armstead, Ryan Ramczyk and Peat were the five on the line when at full strength. That’s the big part that makes Easton not necessarily expendable but certainly overpaid.

Easton played in 12 games and started 9. He was a factor for this team, especially since the line is prone to injuries. Even with that being the case, it’s tough to justify the Saints retaining him for 2021.