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New Orleans Saints News & Rumors

Saints Open Up Extra Cap Space

September 18th, 2021 at 10:04am CST by Ben Levine

The Saints have found a couple of ways to open extra cap space in recent weeks. ESPN’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter) that the organization reworked the contracts of cornerback Bradley Roby and defensive end Marcus Davenport.

[RELATED: Texans Trade Bradley Roby To Saints]

Roby’s restructuring comes on the heels of his trade to New Orleans earlier this month. After the Saints sent a 2022 third-round pick and a conditional 2023 choice to the Texans, they converted $847K of the player’s salary into a bonus. This move created a bit more than $677K in cap space. Per Aaron Wilson (on Twitter), this transaction was possible thanks to the Texans’ willingness to cover $7.58M of Roby’s salary and roster bonus.

The veteran’s cap hold in 2021 is now $1.18MM, but it’s a whopping $10.169MM in 2022. Roby also now has void years in 2023, 2024, 2025 at $25MM per year. The 29-year-old’s suspension ended earlier this week, meaning he should make his season debut this weekend.

Davenport also helped his team open some extra cap by converting $1.35MM of his salary into a bonus. Similar to Roby, the defensive end will also get three void years tacked on to the end of his contract. The move opens up about $1.08MM in cap space. Davenport started New Orleans’ season opener, collecting three tackles, two tackles for loss, and one sack. He was placed on IR this week after suffering a shoulder injury.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/17/21

September 17th, 2021 at 5:37pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Friday’s practice squad decisions:

Atlanta Falcons

Dallas Cowboys

  • Placed on practice squad IR: WR Osiris Mitchell

New Orleans Saints

Washington Football Team

Saints Place Marcus Davenport, Kwon Alexander On IR

September 17th, 2021 at 3:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

Two Saints defensive starters will be sidelined until at least October. The Saints are placing Marcus Davenport and Kwon Alexander on IR, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

Neither Davenport nor Alexander practiced this week due to shoulder and elbow injuries, respectively. They will not be able to return until New Orleans’ Week 5 game.

While Davenport was believed to have suffered a pectoral muscle strain in Week 1, the Saints listed the fourth-year defensive end on their injury report with a shoulder ailment. Davenport’s injury is not expected to keep him out especially long, but the Saints will nevertheless save a roster spot by moving him to IR.

The Saints moved Davenport back into their starting lineup to start this season, after having let Trey Hendrickson walk in free agency. Hendrickson signed with the Bengals, leaving Davenport an opportunity to re-establish himself opposite Cameron Jordan. Davenport registered a sack and two QB hits in the Saints’ dominant Week 1 win over the Packers. The Saints picked up Davenport’s fifth-year option in May.

Alexander worked his way back from a December Achilles tear to be ready in time for the Saints’ opener, but this continues a rough run of health for the former Buccaneers standout. Alexander suffered a torn ACL in 2018, though he still landed a nice contract from the 49ers. However, the veteran linebacker sustained a pectoral muscle tear in his first 49ers season. Alexander’s latest malady stands to increase second-year linebacker Zack Baun‘s workload, The Athletic’s Larry Holder tweets. The 2020 third-round pick played 23 defensive snaps in the team’s opener.

Saints Planning To Let Terron Armstead Test Free Agency?

September 16th, 2021 at 5:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints have continually prioritized their offensive line, which currently consists of four former first-round picks and ex-second-rounder Erik McCoy. They made a major tackle decision this offseason, however, and may be prepared to part ways with a longtime contributor in 2022.

New Orleans is planning to let longtime left tackle Terron Armstead play out his contract and hit free agency, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com notes. The Saints extended Armstead back in May of 2016; that five-year deal expires after this season.

Due to a contract restructure that introduced a void year into the equation, Fowler adds Armstead cannot be franchise-tagged. This would put the Saints to a higher-stakes decision, one that resembles the 49ers’ situation with Trent Williams this year. San Francisco paid up to keep Williams, signing the perennial Pro Bowler to an offensive line-record contract. At 30, Armstead is three years younger than Williams and will certainly aim high if he hits free agency for the first time.

This scenario playing out would not keep the Saints from re-signing Armstead. But they gave right tackle Ryan Ramczyk a top-market deal this summer; that $19.2MM-per-year pact came in much higher than Armstead’s 2016 extension ($13MM AAV). Ramczyk’s contract also contains an interesting provision. If Ramczyk earns first- or second-team All-Pro acclaim at left tackle, he earns a $1MM bonus and will see his annual salaries bumped up by $1MM.

The Saints could avoid that path by re-signing Armstead, but given Williams’ example, it will be difficult to keep the three-time Pro Bowl left tackle off the market. Fellow 2013 left tackle draftee David Bakhtiari raised the salary ceiling beyond $23MM per year on his 2021 extension, leading to Williams topping it. With the salary cap set to spike toward $210MM in 2022, Armstead will stand in a good position — barring a major injury setback this season — come March. Letting Armstead walk would also help the Saints plan a deal for McCoy, who will enter a contract year in 2022.

Armstead hitting free agency would make him one of the top players available. By trimming $100MM-plus in cap space and finding room for a Marcus Williams franchise tag, the Saints showed this year they will create space for players they deem essential. After extending Ramczyk and Marshon Lattimore, will they end up letting both Armstead and Williams walk?

This Date In Transactions History: Saints Extend HC Sean Payton

September 15th, 2021 at 9:11pm CST by Ben Levine

On this date in 2019, Sean Payton got a significant pay bump and commitment from the New Orleans Saints. On September 15, 2019, the head coach inked a new five-year deal with the organization.

Payton, a former QB-turned-coach, spent a few years as Giants offensive coordinator and Cowboys assistant head coach before securing the head coaching job in New Orleans in 2006. Payton’s first three years at the helm left a bit to be desired; the Saints had only one playoff appearance and went 25-23 between the three campaigns. However, the Saints finally broke through in 2009, winning 13 games en route to a Super Bowl championship.

The Saints remained a contender through 2013 (although Payton wasn’t with them in 2012 thanks to a suspension). While the team underwhelmed and went 7-9 each season between 2014 and 2016, Payton and the team managed to rehabilitate their image and rejoin the class of the NFC. The Saints won 24 games between 2017 and 2018, leading to Payton’s extension in 2019.

While Payton’s previous deal paid him around $9MM per season, this new extension was estimated to be worth up to a whopping $13MM annually, making the Saints leader one of the highest-paid head coaches in professional sports history. Payton’s deal was originally set to end following the 2020 season, but the extension (which ripped up the final year of the former deal) kept the head coach in New Orleans through at least 2024.

Perhaps more importantly, the extension kept Payton away from one of the Saints’ NFC foes. Since Payton joined the Saints, the Cowboys made multiple attempts to recruit the coach back to Dallas. Even then, the extension didn’t do much to stop them; the Cowboys reportedly reached out to Payton about their head coaching vacancy in 2019 (which VP Stephen Jones later denied).

While the Saints have been unable to return to the Super Bowl, Payton has still managed to keep the organization relevant. After inking his extension, the head coach guided his team to a 13-3 record in 2019 and a 12-4 record in 2020. There’s some uncertainty about the organization’s ability to compete in the post-Drew Brees era. However, thanks in part to the extension signed on this date in 2019, the Saints brass can rest easy knowing that they have one organizational pillar signed long term.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/15/21

September 15th, 2021 at 5:07pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor NFL transactions:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Las Vegas Raiders

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Tennessee Titans

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/15/21

September 15th, 2021 at 12:51pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s taxi squad moves here:

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Chargers

Las Vegas Raiders

New Orleans Saints

Seattle Seahawks

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/14/21

September 14th, 2021 at 6:26pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

  • Released: OL Mike Hortond

Dallas Cowboysmia

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

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