New Orleans Saints News & Rumors

Most clubs have fairly set rosters at this point, as OTA, minicamp, and preseason performances won’t do much to alter roster composition. The majority of key releases came in March, but there are still several scenarios where certain contributors could lose their roster spot in the coming months. For the most part, we’ll focus on situations where the cap savings would be in excess of $1MM.

Because free agency has already passed, financial ramifications won’t play a huge role in these decisions; there aren’t a ton of high-profile free agents on which to spend that saved money, so these calls will mostly be made based on performance. However, any cap space saved through these potential releases could be rolled over into 2016, so that’s something clubs have to consider.

We’ve already looked at the AFC East, NFC East, AFC North, NFC North, and AFC South, so let’s dive into the NFC South…

Atlanta Falcons:

• Jonathan Babineaux, DT: The Falcons have accumulated quite a bit of defensive line depth over the past few years, signing Tyson Jackson, Paul Soliai, Adrian Clayborn, and O’Brien Schofield and using draft picks on Vic Beasley, Ra’Shede Hageman, and Grady Jarrett, as well as re-signing Kroy Biermann earlier this year. The lone constant has been the 34-year-old Babineaux, who has been with Atlanta since being selected in the second round of the 2005 draft. Given his age, the club’s newfound depth at his position, and the fact that the Falcons could save nearly $3MM by cutting him, he sounds like an ideal candidate for release, right? However, new head coach Dan Quinn likes to use a rotation along his defensive line, and more importantly, Babineaux was pretty good last year, grading as the league’s No. 28 defensive tackle and rushing the passer quite effectively, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Prediction: not released.

Carolina Panthers:

• Jerricho Cotchery, WR: Spending 70% of his time in the slot last season, Cotchery nearly replicated his reception and yardage statistics from the year prior, catching 48 balls for 480 yards, but his touchdown numbers lagged far behind, as he scored just once as compared to 10 times in 2014 with the Steelers. The Panthers invested a second-round pick in Michigan receiver Devin Funchess, and the club likely hopes that he’ll ascend to the starting lineup immediately, joining last year’s first-rounder Kelvin Benjamin. Free agent addition Ted Ginn Jr. figures to take some of Cotchery’s snaps in the slot, and other than Ginn Jr., Carolina is going with at youth movement at receiver, with Jarrett Boykin, Mike Brown, and Stephen Hill fighting for playing time. Cotchery isn’t a bad player, but he doesn’t seem to fit with the team’s roster construction, and the Panthers can save $1.5MM by cutting him. Prediction: released.

• Roman Harper, S: Harper, 32, started all 16 games for the Panthers last season, posting 41 tackles and a career-high four interceptions. Based on PFF’s metrics, Harper produced his best season since 2010, but his overall grade of +0.1 was still just barely above-average, ranking 46th among 87 qualifiers. Carolina’s issues in the secondary have been well-documented in the past couple years, but now that the club has some other options in the back end — Tre Boston emerged as a rookie last year, and the Panthers signed Kurt Coleman to a two-year deal in March — I don’t see Carolina being too desperate to hanging on to Harper, especially given that they can save $1.5MM by severing ties. Prediction: released.

• Mike Tolbert, RB: Tolbert is an odd player in today’s NFL: He doesn’t fit the H-back mold, instead acting as a running back/fullback hybrid that doesn’t really exist in the league anymore. After suffering a hairline fracture in his left leg during Week 3 of last season, Tolbert was placed on IR/designated to return, ultimately coming back in Week 13. He’s nearly 30 years old, but given that Carolina doesn’t have a ton of depth behind Jonathan Stewart after releasing DeAngelo Williams, Tolbert should be safe. The Panthers would incur $1MM in dead money by cutting him. Prediction: not released.

New Orleans Saints:

• Ben Watson, TE: Those around the Saints have talked up third-year pro Josh Hill as the leading candidate to replace tight end Jimmy Graham, who was traded to the Seahawks over the offseason. But Hill doesn’t have much in the way of experience, having logged just 20 receptions during his first two seasons, and earlier today Mike Triplett of ESPN.com wrote that he expects New Orleans to use a committee approach at tight end. All of which is to say that 34-year-old Ben Watson is probably safe for 2015; the club would only save $1.5MM by cutting him, and they probably value his veteran presence enough to keep him around. Prediction: not released.

• Had the Saints not restructured the contracts of Marques Colston, Jahri Evans, and David Hawthorne earlier this year, they all would have been candidates for release.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

• Michael Koenen, P: Koenen is the sixth-highest paid punter in the league in terms of annual value, and his 2015 cap hit is also sixth at his position. However, he finished fourth-worst in terms of net punting average last year, and though he finished with a positive grade from PFF, he still ranked only 23rd among 41 qualifiers. Koenen has no remaining bonus money or guarantees left on his current deal, so the Buccaneers could cut him at anytime, clearing out his $3.25MM salaries for ’15 and ’16. Maybe they’ll wait until training camp or the preseason to see how Koenen looks, but I think they’ll probably cut him and look for a cheaper (and younger) option. Prediction: released.

• Brandon Myers, TE: Now 29 years of age, Myers has seen a swift decline since his high-water mark season with Oakland in 2012: His receptions have dropped from 79 to 47 to 22 in the past three seasons, while his receiving yards have decreased from 806 to 522 to 190. 2014 second-round pick Austin Seferian-Jenkins is expected to take on a larger role next season, Luke Stocker will maintain his in-lone blocking job, while Tampa also re-acquired Tim Wright via waivers. It doesn’t look like there will be a spot for Myers, or his $3MM+ in cap charges over the next two seasons. Prediction: released.

Before NFL training camps get underway next month, we’ll be taking a closer look at the top 2015 cap hits for teams around the league. We began our series last week by focusing on the NFC East and AFC East divisions, and earlier this week, we looked at the NFC North and AFC North. Today, we’ll head back to the NFC to examine the South division.

Listed below are the top 10 cap hits for the coming season for each of the four NFC South franchises, accompanied by some observations on the spending habits of those clubs. Let’s dive in….

Atlanta Falcons:

1. Matt Ryan, QB: $19,500,000
2. Julio Jones, WR: $10,176,000
3. Roddy White, WR: $5,556,250
4. William Moore, S: $5,368,750
5. Paul Soliai, DT: $4,400,000
6. Jon Asamoah, G: $4,268,750
7. Justin Blalock, G: $4,120,000 (dead money)
8. Joe Hawley, C: $4,000,000
9. Tyson Jackson, DT: $3,850,000
10. Jake Matthews, LT: $3,733,977
    Total: $64,973,727

Besides Ryan’s substantial cap hit and an eight-digit figure for Jones, which could be reduced if he signs a contract extension this year, the Falcons aren’t carrying a single cap number exceeding $5.56MM in 2015. Overall, Atlanta’s top 10 players account for less than $65MM of the team’s 2015 cap, a very club-friendly total.

Of course, the Falcons are somewhat lacking in star power outside of the players involved in their passing game, so it makes sense that they wouldn’t be too heavily invested at other positions. In recent years, offensive and defensive line play has been one of Atlanta’s shortcomings, and the club’s recent investments at those positions is reflected in this list — Soliai, Asamoah, Jackson, and Matthews have all been added to the roster within the last year and a half.

At $4.12MM, Blalock easily represents the largest dead-money charge on the Falcons’ books, but if he had been retained for the 2015 season, his cap number would have been $7.91MM, third on the team behind Ryan and Jones.

Carolina Panthers:

1. Charles Johnson, DE: $20,020,000
2. Cam Newton, QB: $13,000,000
3. Ryan Kalil, C: $11,795,000
4. Jonathan Stewart, RB: $8,300,000
5. Greg Olsen, TE: $6,300,000
6. Thomas Davis, LB: $5,900,000
7. DeAngelo Williams, RB: $4,333,333 (dead money)
8. Luke Kuechly, LB: $4,002,283
9. Steve Smith, WR: $4,000,000 (dead money)
10. Mike Tolbert, RB: $3,425,000
    Total: $81,075,616

With a $20.02MM cap hit for the 2015 season, Johnson has a cap charge that ranks first among defensive players, and is also one of just three figures over $20MM at any position — Lions receiver Calvin Johnson‘s cap number also exceeds $20MM, as does another player in the NFC South, whom we’ll discuss shortly.

Still, despite Johnson’s extravagant figure, it may not even be the most noteworthy feature of the Panthers’ list. Even more unusual is the fact that three running backs show up within Carolina’s top 10 cap hits. Combining for a total cap charge of nearly $12MM, Stewart and Tolbert alone would represent an overpayment at the position, and that doesn’t even take into account Williams’ $4MM+ dead-money charge. I imagine GM Dave Gettleman is looking forward to eventually getting those deals off the books and perhaps investing in younger, cheaper backs.

The rest of the Panthers’ top 10 is made up primarily of core players who either recently signed extensions or will do so soon. Newton, Olsen, and Davis all agreed to new contracts this offseason, and it’s just a matter of time before Kuechly does the same.

New Orleans Saints:

1. Drew Brees, QB: $26,400,000
2. Jimmy Graham, TE: $9,000,000 (dead money)
3. Jahri Evans, G: $7,000,000
4. Marques Colston, WR: $6,500,000
5. Ben Grubbs, G: $6,000,000 (dead money)
6. Jairus Byrd, S: $5,500,000
7. Junior Galette, OLB: $5,450,000
8. Curtis Lofton, LB: $5,000,000 (dead money)
9. Keenan Lewis, CB: $4,500,000
10. Max Unger, C: $4,500,000
    Total: $79,850,000

Heading into the offseason, no team had more cap maneuvering to do than the Saints, who were about $20MM over the cap prior to free agency. All the dead-money charges on the team’s top-10 list don’t look great, but they reflect the moves New Orleans had to make in order to create a little flexibility this spring. If the team had kept Graham, Grubbs, and Lofton rather than trading or releasing them, their cap figures would be even larger.

The Saints aren’t quite out of the woods yet. Contracts like Byrd’s, Galette’s, and Cameron Jordan‘s – which didn’t make the cut here – have relatively modest cap numbers in 2015 before jumping significantly in future seasons. Those three players will count for a total of about $32MM against the cap in 2016, representing the club’s top cap numbers besides Brees.

Speaking of Brees, his $26.4MM cap hit is by far the biggest one in the NFL this year. However, the Saints did well to avoid restructuring his contract and pushing more money onto future seasons. Brees’ cap number will increase to $27.4MM in 2016, but since that’s the last year of his contract, New Orleans should be able to reduce that figure by extending him.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

1. Gerald McCoy, DT: $14,595,000
2. Vincent Jackson, WR: $12,209,777
3. Michael Johnson, DE: $7,000,000 (dead money)
4. Logan Mankins, G: $7,000,000
5. Carl Nicks, G: $4,714,000 (dead money)
6. Jameis Winston, QB: $4,609,323
7. Bruce Carter, LB: $4,250,000
8. Alterraun Verner, CB: $4,250,000
9. Dashon Goldson, S: $4,000,000 (dead money)
10. Evan Smith, C: $3,750,000
    Total: $66,378,100

Like the Saints, the Buccaneers have three dead-money charges amongst their top 10 cap hits, which I was somewhat surprised to see — Tampa Bay often structures contracts to include larger base salaries and small signing bonuses, in order to make it easier to go year to year. That wasn’t the case for these three players, though, particularly Johnson, who epitomizes the team’s misguided 2014 spending spree.

One factor that could give the Bucs a leg up on their division rivals within the next three or four seasons is the small amount of cap room they’re dedicating to their quarterback. The NFC South’s other three starters have an average cap hit of more than $19MM for 2015, while Winston comes in below $5MM. If the No. 1 overall pick develops into a solid NFL starter, it will allow Tampa Bay to surround him with pricier impact players at other positions until he’s eligible for his second contract.

Information from Over the Cap was used in the creation of this post.