Saints Inch Closer to Salary Cap After Latest Contract Restructure

The NFL's free agency period is set to begin next week and several teams are still well over the salary cap. One of them happens to be the New Orleans Saints, who entered the weekend more than $23 million over the $202.8 million salary cap.

Fortunately, the Saints created a lot more space by restructuring veteran cornerback Marshon Lattimore's contract on Saturday.

Marshon Lattimore Contract

Lattimore was set to see an $8 million base salary with a $15 million roster bonus in 2022. The Saints have since converted that total into a signing bonus, which frees up $18.45 million in cap space. New Orleans is now just $6.64 million over the cap, according to Spotrac.

Including the 2022 NFL season, the 25-year-old CB has five more years left on his contract. His cap hit is as follows going forward:

• 2022: $8.9 million
• 2023: $22.4 million
• 2024: $22.9 million
• 2025: $25.9 million
• 2026: $23.1 million

The Saints have a long list of things they need to accomplish this offseason. They still don't have a starting quarterback and are in desperate need of pass-catching help. They still need to take care of key free agents like LT Terron Armstead and FS Marcus Williams, so it'll be interesting to see how far this new-found cap space will go.

FanDuel Sportsbooks is giving the Saints +3500 odds (No. 17) to win Super Bowl LVII next season. Considering how New Orleans is still several pieces away from a championship-quality roster, more contract restructures could be on the way.

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.