The New Orleans Saints have made some important restructures this offseason, including Alvin Kamara, Chase Young and Juwan Johnson. Two players who have not been restructured yet are Pete Werner and Cesar Ruiz. Key word is yet, and the Saints need to keep it that way.
Erik McCoy has suffered major injuries in back to back seasons. On paper, that may be a questionable decision. While he is one of the team's best players, it means nothing without availability. McCoy is the most questionable restructure that could be justified.
Saints fans would be confused and upset, and rightfully so, if the Saints restructured either player. The team could save $6.2 million by restructuring Ruiz and $4 million with a Werner restructure. The moves would give the Saints more freedom this offseason but at the cost of handicapping themselves moving forward by guaranteeing money in the future.
Resturcturing Cesar Ruiz and Pete Werner is a Saints fans' worst nighmare
Unless the Saints use the same method they used for Alvin Kamara's contract, a restructure of Werner or Ruiz will guarantee they're in New Orleans in 2027. That works for a player like Young and Johnson. They're coming off the best years of their career. It would make sense for the Saints to further their commitment.
That's far from the case for Werner and Ruiz. They haven't shown you anything to say they are unquestionably pieces of the future. There's an easy argument to be made that both players are entering a make or break season. If they don't step up their performance this upcoming season, cutting bait would be understandable and also plausible without hurting the team financially. Those two factors intersecting puts pressure on the lineman and linebacker.
Werner was a part of a rotation with Danny Stutsman and Isaiah Stalbird. Werner is a solid player, but he is still a guy the Saints could reasonably move on from after the season. Ruiz is just to inconsistent, and he loses big when he does lose. The Saints already made one addition to the line, and there's a reason fans are clamoring for a second move.
A restructure would open up immediate money, but the question has to be asked if it's worth extending the commitment to these players. With Werner and Ruiz having so much left to prove, it just doesn't make sense to restructure either contract. Maybe that's the reason the Saints haven't done it yet. They should keep it that way.