Well, that's one way to celebrate the new season. On the morning of the start of the 2026 NFL season, the New Orleans Saints adjusted some contracts, creating about $5 million in cap space.
New Orleans started off with the contract of right guard Cesar Ruiz, lowering his cap hit from $14.2 million to $7.99 million. However, there is a slight trade-off, as he now carries a dead cap hit of around $15 million. Then they adjusted defensive tackle Devon Godchaux's contract, which expires after this year, and would drop his cap hit by more than half, lowering it from $7.1 million to $3.02 million.
Before the moves, the Saints were already compliant with the cap. They were cutting it close, so these adjustments were more of a bookkeeping matter than anything else. But now that they have a little bit of wiggle room in the cap, what exactly should the Saints do, if anything?
The Saints don't have many uses for the small cap space, but there are still meaningful moves to be made
$5 million isn't really enough for a splash in free agency or a headline trade. But it's not nothing either, and the Saints could still make a move. It's right around the amount of money that would be on a vet-minimum contract, while it could also cover procedural moves like IR moves or practice squad elevations.
For example, let's say safety Julian Blackmon suffers another season injury following the first game of the season. They could shuffle their players around, likely putting Jonas Sanker next to Justin Reid and putting Jayden Price in the STAR role. If the in-house solution doesn't work, they would need to turn to free agency or look at trades, since there are currently no safeties on the practice squad.
Let's also say the Saints lose an offensive lineman for the season. They have viable in-house options on the practice squad, but after three elevations, those players must stay on the active roster. Even then, given the question mark surrounding the o-line depth, adding someone from outside the team is still a legitimate option.
Overall, the contract adjustments for Ruiz and Godchaux will likely serve as a cushion. The Saints won't spend the extra money if they don't have to, and it's a good thing to have some money in the reserve. There's always the chance that they'll have to dip into their emergency jar, given the nature of the NFL.
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