Saints: Five players take up almost 50 percent of salary cap

Looking at a breakdown of the Saints salary cap for next year, the top five players take up almost 50 percent of New Orleans’ money in 2021.

The New Orleans Saints have one of the biggest tasks of all NFL teams this year. They don’t just need to improve, they need to improve while cutting everyone’s salary and getting below the newly raised $180 million salary cap.

Without any unrestricted free agent contracts included, the top five highest-paid Saints’ players take up over 50 percent of the whole team’s cap space.

Cam Jordan – 9.99 percent

The highest-paid New Orleans player is long-time star defensive end Cameron Jordan. Over the years, Jordan has definitely earned his high payday. He is currently under contract until 2023 which would potentially be the end of his career.

Michael Thomas – 9.94 percent

Michael Thomas earned his contract after a historic 2019 season where he broke a long-standing NFL receptions record along with a plethora of Saints records. He is currently under contract until 2024. He needs to bounce back after a down year this season to keep earning his money.

Terron Armstead – 8.58 percent

Terron Armstead has been one of the strongest links protecting Drew Brees on the offensive line since his arrival in New Orleans. He has the highest lineman salary on the team, and he is under contract until 2023 after signing a 5-year $65 million deal.

Taysom Hill – 8.54 percent

I have no hate for Taysom Hill. However, the fact that a bench/gadget player is making a top-five salary for the team is ridiculous. Maybe Payton sees him as the starter, but you almost have to after handing over $24 million to a backup.

Janoris Jenkins – 7.51 percent

The Saints brought in Janoris Jenkins from the New York Giants last year before restructuring his large contract. They ended up agreeing on 2-years, $16.75 million. With that contract and Drew Brees’ restructure, Jenkins entered the top five highest-paid players.

For a team above the cap by nearly $100 million at the start of the offseason, they are going to have their work cut out for them this offseason with the contract decisions that need to be made.