Saints Roster Moves: New Orleans Makes 3 Tweaks To Clear Needed Cap Space

The Saints still are significantly over the cap

Nov 17, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive end Carl Granderson (96) celebrates a tackle for a loss against the Cleveland Browns during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images / Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Saints cleared significant salary cap space by restructuring Derek Carr's contract last week. And they reportedly began this week by executing a series of moves to clear even more space.

ESPN's Katherine Terrell reported that New Orleans restructured contracts for three players: defensive end Carl Granderson, guard Cesar Ruiz and defensive tackle Khalen Saunders. The moves, which opened up nearly $14 million in cap space, included converting salaries into roster bonuses and adding voidable years.

Here are the details, per Terrell:

Granderson: lowered $11.73 million cap hit to $6.482 million
Ruiz: lowered $12.25 million cap hit to $5.8 million
Saunders: lowered $4.6 million cap hit to $2.5 million

As for actual free agency moves, the Saints didn't do much on Monday. They began the day by trading for New England Patriots nose tackle Davon Godchaux and ended the day by re-signing edge rusher Chase Young to a three-year, $51 million deal. They also watched cornerback Paulson Adebo agree to a deal with the New York Giants.

Reminder: the NFL's legal tampering period runs through 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday, at which point free agency deals can become official.

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