Last week, it was announced that the New Orleans Saints had restructured Taysom Hill’s contract. Per OverTheCap.com, the contract will have a $9.2 million cap hit this season and an $18 million cap hit in 2025. This will increase the Saints current cap space to $12 million but will also pile onto the negative cap space next season, which now stands at $88 million.
The puzzling aspect of this move is that the Saints would not have done this without a reason. The team has been trying to fix the future cap more by saving money and quit the habit of pushing negative cap space to future seasons. So, let’s take a look at why the Saints could have made this move?
Free Agency
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One of the main reasons for the contract restructuring is that the Saints want flexibility in free agency. In the last press conference of mandatory minicamp, Dennis Allen mentioned that the team is not targeting a particular free agent. This does not take away from the Saints wanting that ability to sign a top free agent on the market if need be. Having more flexibility will allow the team to fill a position after an injury, wanting to upgrade in a specific spot, or sign more depth. It was announced that Juwan Johnson has an injury, and the hope is that Johnson will be back by the start of the regular season. The Saints might want to get some depth in case the injury knocks Johnson out longer or is re-aggravated.
Some top free agents are available in free agency, and now that the contract was restructured, the Saints could target them. Two that jump out are safety Justin Simmons and edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue. Justin Simmons would be a huge addition to the Saints defensive back room and add immense flexibility. Yannick Ngakoue is a visceral threat off the edge and would improve the lack of total sack numbers.
The added flexibility will allow the Saints to add more depth in positions of need. Running back is a position where injuries pile up, and the Saints might want to bring in one more rusher to help. The team needs better depth at center, and if Erik McCoy is out at any point, there might be trouble. As of now, there are some offensive linemen on the roster who can fill in at center but play guard. The Saints can sign a pure center behind McCoy, who could fill in if need be.
Contract Extensions
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It was also announced that Alvin Kamara was not present at practice on the last day of mandatory minicamp. This was revealed to be “contract related” and could be a big reason why the Saints restructured Taysom Hill’s contract. Assuming contract discussions are underway with Kamara and his representatives, the restructuring move might be to free up space and extend Kamara.
Although Kamara’s contract situation has become more public, other player’s contracts must be addressed. Some notable ones are Paulson Adebo, Rashid Shaheed, and Pete Werner. Adebo and Shaheed are vital to the team’s future, and the Saints could look to deal with their contracts sooner rather than later. Pete Werner is more of a question mark, but the Saints could extend him before the season in case he does make a jump from last year.
The Saints would not restructure Taysom Hill’s contract for the sake of it, and this move revealed different paths they could be taking. In your opinion, why did the Saints make this move? Who are some players the Saints could target in free agency? Who should the Saints extend first, for how long and how much?
