Saints continue to masterfully maneuver salary cap to set them up for success

The New Orleans Saints continue to work wonders with the salary cap. These moves are putting the Saints in position to potentially thrive.

Let's just call it like it is. A vast majority of NFL fans don't really know how the salary cap works at this point, and some who deny its very existence. When teams like the New Orleans Saints have become masters of reworking contracts in order to clear up space, it gives these tin-foil hat thoughts credence.

Fortunately, the Saints are going to keep playing the game.

Coming into the offseason, the Saints were almost $60 million over the cap, the worst situation in the NFL. Given that they are a team in the quarterback market, more likely than not through free agency or trade given their current situation and franchise history, there was work to be done.

In early January, the Saints restructured the contract of Michael Thomas which helped. Whether or not he actually plays another snap for the Saints is another story entirely. Earlier this week, safety Marcus Maye and center Erik McCoy had their deals reworked as well. Thursday morning, two more Saints veterans joined the party.

Kicker Will Lutz reworked his deal, dropping his cap number by $1.5 million. Most significantly though was stud tackle Ryan Ramczyk converting most of his 2023 salary to a signing bonus, clearing up $10.336 million in cap space for the Saints to work with

General Manager Mickey Looms is from the Howie Roseman-ilk of being able to masterfully work the salary cap system. Simply put, the Saints are beyond fortunate to call him their own.

Make no mistake about it. there is still work to be done for the New Orleans Saints this offseason. If they keep up this clip though, things might turn around quicker than anticipated, especially in a weak NFC, and even weaker NFC South.