Restructured Contracts: Saints, Floyd, Hyde, Barrett
While teams are currently focused on adding free agents, some front offices are looking to carve out some extra cap space. We’ve collected some of today’s restructured deals below:
- The Saints opened up some extra cap space earlier today. According to ESPN’s Field Yates (on Twitter), the team restructured the contracts of defensive tackle David Onyemata and offensive tackle James Hurst. The moves saved the team an extra $7.015MM. Onyemata inked a three-year, $27MM deal with the Saints in 2020, and he already reworked his contract last offseason. A year ago yesterday, Hurst inked a three-year, $9MM extension with New Orleans.
- The Rams opened up $12MM in cap space by reworking Leonard Floyd‘s contract, according to Yates (on Twitter). Floyd signed a four-year, $64MM extension with the organization last year. In two years with the Rams, the edge rusher has collected 20 sacks, and he’s added another four in six playoff games.
- The Bills converted $5.68MM of safety Micah Hyde’s contract into a signing bonus, opening $4.54MM in cap space, per Yates (on Twitter). The veteran signed a two-year, $19.25MM extension with Buffalo last offseason. Hyde has spent the past five seasons in Buffalo, earning a pair of Pro Bowl nods while only missing a pair of regular season games.
- The Buccaneers restructured Shaq Barrett’s contract, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). The move should open up just under $10MM in cap space, according to Greg Auman of The Athletic (on Twitter). After playing the 2020 season under the franchise tag, Barrett inked a four-year, $72MM deal ($36MM guaranteed) with the Buccaneers last offseason.
Latest On Deshaun Watson
The Falcons’ meeting with quarterback Deshaun Watson has come to an end, and the team has reportedly submitted a trade offer to the Texans, reports Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com.
While Watson’s previous meetings with the Browns, Saints, and Panthers all took place in Houston, the QB’s meeting with the Falcons was in Atlanta. As Wilson notes, the Falcons were a late addition to the Watson sweepstakes, but there are reasons to be optimistic about their pursuit. Watson grew up in Georgia, and he has a relationship with assistant coach T.J. Yates, who played and coached for the Texans.
While the Falcons’ meeting may have featured a different location, the personnel was generally the same. All four teams had their owners, general managers, and coaches present for their respective meetings, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (on Twitter).
Watson is finished speaking with potential suitors, but he’s still making a decision on his preferred path. Per Florio (on Twitter), the quarterback is “incredibly torn” about his decision and was impressed by all four presentations. This has made it “very difficult” to choose a destination, and there is no specific timetable for his decision.
The 26-year-old passer choosing Atlanta would mean the end of Matt Ryan‘s 14-year run leading the team. With the Falcons getting into the Watson mix late, they informed Ryan last weekend of their plans at quarterback, Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). The Browns did not brief Baker Mayfield on their Watson intentions.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/16/22
Here’s a look at the latest tender decisions from around the NFL:
RFAs
Tendered:
- Bills: OL Ryan Bates
- Broncos: OLB Malik Reed
- Commanders: K Joey Slye
- 49ers: LB Azeez Al-Shaair
- Jets: K Eddy Pineiro, QB Mike White
- Rams: LB Travin Howard
- Saints: DL Shy Tuttle
Non-tendered:
- Bills: DT Justin Zimmer
- Broncos: DL DeShawn Williams
- Chiefs: CB Chris Lammons
- Giants: QB Jake Fromm
- Jets: DE Kyle Phillips, OT Greg Senat
- Raiders: CB Keisean Nixon
- Jaguars: RB Dare Ogunbowale
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Commanders: C Keith Ismael, K Brian Johnson, DE Bunmi Rotimi
Saints To Sign S Marcus Maye
The Saints have added a big-name free agent to their secondary. New Orleans is signing safety Marcus Maye, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo (on Twitter).
Maye got a three-year, $28.5MM deal from New Orleans, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). The deal contains $15MM in guaranteed money.
Maye’s 2021 did not go especially well. A DUI arrest came shortly after tense negotiations with the Jets, who did not finalize a long-term extension by the July deadline. Maye played the season on the franchise tag but suffered an Achilles tear, limiting him to only six games. The former second-round pick started 32 games for New York between the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
It was only a few hours ago that we heard the Jets were keeping an eye on their free agent. Connor Hughes of The Athletic confirms (on Twitter) that the Jets were interested in re-signing the safety, but Maye ended up taking the better offer.
The Saints, meanwhile, watched as safety Marcus Williams left for Baltimore earlier today. The defensive back got a whopping five-year, $70MM deal from the Ravens, so New Orleans certainly got a discount by pivoting to Maye.
Saints Rework CB Bradley Roby’s Deal
Bradley Roby is staying in New Orleans. The Saints have agreed to a new deal with the cornerback, reports NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). This move will help the Saints open up some cap space while also assuring that Roby stays with the organization.
After reworking his contract last offseason, Roby’s cap hit was set at $10.169MM in 2022. Roby also has void years in 2023, 2024, 2025 at $25MM per year.
Roby is still playing out a three-year, $36MM deal he signed with the Texans in 2020. He was traded to New Orleans a year later for a third- and sixth-round pick, and he ended up seeing time in 14 games (one start) for his new team. Roby’s first season with the Saints saw him collect 23 tackles, one sack, five passes defended, and one interception.
The Saints were one of the most cash-strapped teams in the NFL, but they’ve already done some work to get under the cap. Of course, the organization is also in the hunt for Deshaun Watson, so it’s not surprising that the front office continues to look for ways to clear money from their books.
Latest On FA OL Terron Armstead
Terron Armstead should earn himself a nice pay day this offseason, but it sounds like he’d consider taking a discount with the Saints depending on their QB situation. According to Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com (on Twitter), Armstead is waiting to see if Deshaun Watson lands in New Orleans before figuring out his next step.
While Armstead is a free agent, he’s presumably among the Saints players actively recruiting Watson to New Orleans, according to Wilson.
Armstead is among the top free agents remaining on the board. The veteran has spent his entire career with the Saints, earning three-straight Pro Bowl nods between 2018 and 2020. The lineman has seen time in 97 career games (93 starts).
The 30-year-old started each of his eight games in 2021. He missed a handful of games with a knee injury, and he’ll reportedly need offseason surgery to repair the ailment.
Falcons To Meet With Deshaun Watson
7:18pm: Watson will meet with the Falcons on Wednesday, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets. The 26-year-old quarterback is a Georgia native, heading to Clemson from Gainesville, Ga., and once worked as a Falcons ball boy. Watson and the Browns finished their meeting Tuesday.
We might be moving close to a trade resolution here, though that is obviously only part of this saga. The Texans appear to have approved trade compensation from the Browns, Panthers and Saints, Dianna Russini of ESPN.com tweets. The Watson meetings were contingent upon it. This would point to the Falcons having made a satisfactory offer as well. Watson reached out to the Falcons about a meeting, Russini adds (on Twitter).
10:55am: The Falcons have emerged as a sleeper team to trade for Deshaun Watson, according to league sources who spoke with Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com (Twitter link). With that, they join the Panthers, Saints, and Browns on the known list of clubs in pursuit of the Texans quarterback. 
Watson is set to meet with the Browns today. As of this writing, the Saints and Panthers are the only clubs reported to have made an offer. Still, the Browns have done plenty of research on Watson – both before trading that fateful draft pick to the Texans and after.
Matt Ryan completed 67% of his passes for 3,968 yards and 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last year. Those numbers are more or less in line with his career averages, though the Falcons are now years removed from their last Super Bowl appearance.
The Falcons could see Watson as the solution, though Ryan just agreed to restructure his contract last week. It’s also possible that the Falcons are simply doing their due diligence and/or looking to raise the asking price for their NFC South rivals. The Panthers and Saints are both keenly interested in the embattled QB — even if the Falcons don’t trade for him, they could help to chip away at their draft capital.
Thanks to Ryan’s restructuring, the Falcons opened up an additional $12MM on their 2022 books. On the heels of that move, they hammered out a brand new $50MM+ extension with veteran lineman Jake Matthews.
NFL Announces Compensatory Picks For 2022 Draft
The NFL has awarded compensatory draft picks for teams in the 2022 draft. These picks are awarded to the teams that suffered the most significant free agent losses during the 2021 offseason.
This year, the NFL awarded 39 comp picks. The comp pick formula assigns picks to franchises who suffered the largest net losses, so teams that signed multiple free agents have a lesser chance of receiving picks.
This year’s formula also includes the changes made last year, when teams began receiving third-round comp picks due to the hiring of minority head coaches and general managers. Seven such picks were awarded this year. The 49ers landed two additional third-rounders this year, obtaining the extra selections for the Jets’ 2021 Robert Saleh hire and the Dolphins hiring Mike McDaniel this year. Miami’s McDaniel hire will give San Francisco another third-rounder in 2023.
The Chiefs obtained a third-rounder for the Bears’ Ryan Poles GM hire, while the Browns landed a third because of the Vikings’ Kwesi Adofo-Mensah GM hire. The Ravens collected their second third-round for the Texans’ 2021 David Culley hire; Culley has since been fired. The Saints and Rams obtained one apiece after seeing the Falcons and Lions hire minority execs Terry Fontenot and Brad Holmes as GMs in 2021. New Orleans and Detroit also landed thirds because of players given high-value contacts last year (Trey Hendrickson and Kenny Golladay, respectively).
Here is the full list of 2022 compensatory selections:
By round:
Round 3: Lions (No. 97 overall), Saints (98), Browns (99)*, Ravens (100)*, Saints (101)*, 49ers (102)*, Chiefs (103)*, Rams (104)*, 49ers (105)*
Round 4: Steelers (No. 138), Ravens (139), Packers (140), Ravens (141), Rams (142), Titans (143)
Round 5: Cowboys (No. 176), Lions (177), Cowboys (178), Colts (179)
Round 6: Rams (No. 211), Rams (212), Falcons (213), Chargers (214), Cardinals (215), Colts (216), Lions (217), Rams (218), Titans (219), 49ers (220), 49ers (221)
Round 7: Chargers (No. 254), Chargers (255), Cardinals (256), Cardinals (257), Packers (258), Chiefs (259), Chargers (260), Buccaneers (261), 49ers (262)
By team:
San Francisco 49ers (5)
Los Angeles Rams (5)
Los Angeles Chargers (4)
Arizona Cardinals (3)
Baltimore Ravens (3)
Detroit Lions (3)
Dallas Cowboys (2)
Green Bay Packers (2)
Indianapolis Colts (2)
Kansas City Chiefs (2)
New Orleans Saints (2)
Tennessee Titans (2)
Atlanta Falcons (1)
Cleveland Browns (1)
Pittsburgh Steelers (1)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1)
* = special compensatory selection
Saints Restructure Marcus Davenport’s Deal
The Saints’ journey to cap compliance is complete. They have moved under the $208MM cap, restructuring Marcus Davenport‘s deal to do so.
More than $8MM of Davenport’s 2022 $9.6MM base salary is now a signing bonus, per ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). This created more than $6MM of cap space for the Saints, who are perhaps in pole position to add a rather hefty contract to their payroll.
New Orleans and Carolina have been mentioned as the lead suitors for Deshaun Watson, who thus far has only been willing to waive his no-trade clause for these NFC South teams. However, a Browns meeting is also on Watson’s agenda. The Falcons have entered the fray as well. Watson does not sound especially thrilled about a Panthers fit. Fitting Watson’s contract onto their payroll will be tricky, but the Saints have navigated winter cap issues for years. They cleared more than $100MM off their payroll to move under the 2021 cap.
Watson’s contract calls for a $35MM base salary in 2022; that amount is guaranteed. The Saints are clearly confident they can create sufficient space for the embattled quarterback, whose civil cases have yet to be resolved.
New Orleans completed a restructure similar to Davenport’s last year, moving much of Marshon Lattimore‘s fifth-year option salary into a bonus. Lattimore has since signed a long-term extension. Davenport’s deal expires after the 2022 season.
RFA Tender Decisions: 3/14/22
The deadline for teams to extend tender offers to their restricted free agents and exclusive rights free agents looms next week. We’ll keep tabs on the latest here:
RFAs
Tendered:
- Commanders: K Brian Johnson
- Saints: WR/PR Deonte Harris (second-round tender)
- Steelers: DB Marcus Allen
- Vikings: K Greg Joseph