Saints Top Salary Cap Hits for 2022

Taking a look at the top salary cap hits for the Saints in 2022, which will require the team to make some decisions on how to handle them.

Author:
John Hendrix
Publish date:
Jan 19, 2022 10:44 AM EST

If you haven't heard it by now from many of the talking heads, the Saints are going to be in salary cap hell for another offseason. However, we know better than to believe this. For years, Mickey Loomis and Khai Harley have done a great job navigating things for New Orleans when it comes to getting under the cap, and last year was some of the best evidence to support their case.

The Saints were able to navigate through nearly $100 million of salary cap shortcomings with the league lowering the overall figure due to COVID, and they were also able to sign free agents too. This next NFL season sees a major increase in the cap ($208.2 million), and 2023 is also expected to rise. That means good things for the team and how they can potentially approach current and future deals.

We'll take a comprehensive look at the top salary cap hits facing New Orleans going into the offseason, and tackle how to navigate it and where to prioritize a strategic approach later. All data is courtesy of Spotrac.

New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore (23) intercepts a pass against New England Patriots. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Marshon Lattimore, CB

Cap Hit (13.2%): $27.45 million ($9.1 million base + $1.5 million signing bonus + $15 million roster bonus + $1.85 million restructure bonus)

Michael Thomas, WR

Cap Hit (11.9%): $24.7 million ($15.35 million base + $4 million signing bonus + $250K roster bonus + $200K workout bonus + $4.9 million restructure bonus)

Ryan Ramczyk, RT

Cap Hit (11.1%): $23.04 million ($10.5 million base + $3.8 million signing bonus + $8.74 million roster bonus)

Cam Jordan, DE

Cap Hit (11%): $22.88 million ($13.6 million base + $3.1 million signing bonus + $1 million roster bonus + $100K roster bonus + $5.08 million restructure bonus)

Andrus Peat, LG

Cap Hit (7.4%): $15.45 million ($10.85 million base + $2.6 million signing bonus + $2 million restructure bonus)

USATSI_16741778_168389760_lowres — Sep 12, 2021; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) reacts after scoring a second quarter touchdown against the Green Bay Packers at TIAA Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The Rest of the Top Hits

Alvin Kamara, RB (7%) - $14.5 million ($5.5 million base)
David Onyemata, DT (6.3%) - $13.17 million ($7.5 million base)
Terron Armstead, LT (6.2%) - $13 million ($13 million dead money)
Taysom Hill, QB (5.9%) - $12.325 million ($1.1 million base)
Malcolm Jenkins, S (5.9%) - $12.2 million ($7.75 million base)

Other considerations include Demario Davis ($11 million cap charge, $7.5 million base salary), Bradley Roby ($10 million cap charge, $9.5 million, base salary), and Marcus Davenport (estimated fifth-year option cap around $9.8 million).

Again, without getting into too much detail here, the facts remains that the Saints could lower a lot of the cap hits by converting roster bonuses into signing bonuses. They're also going to be able to lower some of the base salaries of players too. At the end of it all, the Saints could go from being considerably over to being able to spend frivously.