Saints cap space problem is tied to another major issue the team is facing

The 2024 offseason has rolled around and the New Orleans Saints are projected to be nearly $80 million over the cap. Cap space challenges have become a recent tradition in New Orleans. Every offseason, the Saints are restructuring contracts and pulling off cap space magic to get under the salary cap. That’ll be the No. 1 priority once again this offseason.

Unfortunately, that’s not the only problem New Orleans is facing. In fact, the cap space issue is connected to one of the Saints’ other major issues. The Saints are an old team— the oldest team in the NFL. The reason their cap situation is so bad is because the team has a ton of veterans making a lot of money.

Saints must get younger during the offseason

New Orleans entered the season with the league’s oldest roster, having an average age of 27.4. The team has the oldest offense and second-oldest defense. While experience and veteran leadership is an important factor to winning in the NFL, balance is necessary. An old roster is fine if a team is a contender and in a championship window, but the Saints don’t fit that category.

They are coming off a 9-8 season where they missed the playoffs. New Orleans isn’t set up to contend for a title right now, and with this many older players, the Saints aren’t setting themselves up for the future either.

To be fair, a lot of the older players are still playing well. Demario Davis and Cameron Jordan, the two oldest guys on the roster now that Jimmy Graham is a free agent, are still playing at a quality level. However, the Saints will eventually have to take a look at the roster and ask if its time to completely turn to a new era.

Once New Orleans makes that decision, they will get younger, drastically improve the cap situation, set themselves up better for the future, and may even give themselves a better chance to win now. That, of course, will all depend on the younger players that the Saints bring in the building.

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