3 Saints Veterans That Could Be Cut to Save Their Salary Cap Situation This Offseason

The New Orleans Saints missed the playoffs this past season for the first time since 2016 and now head into the offseason with the NFL's worst salary cap situation. The team has already started to combat the issue by restructuring the contracts of players like Michael Thomas and Andrus Peat.

New Orleans is making progress one step at a time, but there is still a long way to go. The Saints are still projected to be $41 million over the salary cap limit. With that being said, here's a look at a few veterans on the roster that could be cut to save the team's salary cap situation.

Saints Cap Casualties

1. Nick Vannett, TE

The Saints brought veteran tight end Nick Vannett in prior to the 2021 season in hopes of giving starter Adam Trautman a capable mentor. However, injuries derailed his season and he only appeared in seven games. Vannett ended up logging 133 yards and 1 touchdown on 15 receptions. While he six-year pro has always been a strong blocker, he is by no means a threat in the passing attack. New Orleans is likely better off finding TE help through free agency or the NFL Draft. Cutting Vannett would save just under $1 million in cap space and every little bit helps.

2. Bradley Roby, CB

Veteran cornerback Bradley Roby sticks out as a possible cut candidate for one reason and one reason only. Letting him go would save the Saints $10 million against the cap and come with just $666K in dead cap. Roby was acquired via trade before the start of the 2021 season and he ended up playing in 14 games for New Orleans. He broke up 5 passes and even tallied a sack, but it wasn't enough to surpass Paulson Adebo on the depth chart. The 29-year-old was inactive for the final two games of the season, which only goes to show the depth New Orleans has in the secondary. He is not worth keeping around at his current price tag.

3. Malcolm Jenkins, S

This one is much less likely than the other two options, yet it still makes a lot of sense. Malcolm Jenkins the the definition of an NFL veteran, playing in 13 seasons and being named to 3 Pro Bowls in the process. He finished second on the team with 79 tackles in 2021 and remains a viable run stopper. The only problem is Jenkins is starting to suffer in man coverage at 34 years of age. New Orleans could easily opt to bring back Marcus Williams or PJ Williams as a cheaper way to fill out the safety position. After all, cutting ties with Jenkins frees up $8.2 million in cap space and only carries a dead cap hit of $3.9 million.

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.