Tuesday, June 17, 2014

The Saints Off-Season In Review

          The NFL limits the amount of money teams can spend on players each season. Teams must then balance short and long term needs to succeed. Manage the cap correctly and you can win year after year (Hi New England Patriots!). Mismanage the cap and you have to cut valuable players and wallow in mediocrity (step on up Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys!). Teams have to decide the relative value of players compared to their salaries and production. This offseason, the New Orleans Saints have had to cut players whose cap value outweighed their on-field production. They have used their new cap room to prepare for another Super Bowl run.
          Since February, the Saints have released, traded, or let go six players who played in their Super Bowl XLIV victory over the Indianapolis Colts. These transactions all served to get the Saints under the 133 million dollar salary cap. From the Saints’ perspective, these players production no longer matched their salaries. Defensive end Will Smith counted 11.5 million dollars against the cap and missed last season with a knee injury. Linebacker Jonathan Vilma played one game last year. Defensive backs Roman Harper and Jabari Greer each saw their playing time dwindle due to injuries and ineffectiveness. Wide receiver Lance Moore lost snaps to rookie Kenny Stills. Running back Darren Sproles failed to replicate his pass catching prowess of past seasons. Additionally the Saints have younger and cheaper players at those positions. The Saints saved themselves approximately 24 million dollars against the cap by letting these players go.

New Saints safety Jairus Byrd

          Releasing these players allowed the Saints to improve their team for next season. They placed the franchise tag on tight end Jimmy Graham and signed safety Jairus Byrd. By tagging Graham, the Saints locked him into a one year contract worth just over 7 million dollars for next season. The team remains stalemated with Graham over a long term contract, but they will enjoy his services for another year. On Tuesday, the Saints signed safety Jairus Byrd to a 6 year, 54 million dollar contract with 28 million dollars in guaranteed salary. Byrd will count only 3.5 million against this year’s cap, with cap figures of 10.3 and 9.7 million in 2015 and 2016. Byrd, a 3 time Pro Bowler, represents an upgrade over departed safeties Harper and Malcolm Jenkins. Both of these players significantly improve the Saints’ chances of winning next season.

Saints All-Pro Tight End Jimmy Graham

          The Saints, however, finances remain tight because of enormous salary of quarterback Drew Brees. For the next three seasons, Brees will count 18.4, 26.4, and 27.4 million dollars against the cap. Coupled with Byrd’s contract, the Saints have a significant portion of their cap tied into their top two players. In order to sign Graham to an extension, the Saints will need to restructure or renegotiate Brees’ contract. A contract for Graham would likely mirror Byrd’s deal—averaging about 9 million per year. But the team may need that money to fill the other 51 spots on the roster.
          So when looking at the Saints offseason, remember the salary cap rules all. 

And in the meantime enjoy Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan and his Ford Econoline van:

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