The New Orleans Saints Retool and Rebuild
At first glance it looked like the New Orleans Saints were in a full on rebuilding mode. They were very active in the opening days of NFL free agency, and there were rumors that everyone on their roster was available via trade. However, taking a look at what the Saints have added it seems very clear that they are managing a pretty terrible cap situation while adding the pieces the need to remain competitive on the field.
The Saints traded away Jimmy Graham, a year after signing him to a large contract extension, and Ben Grubbs. They cut Curtis Lofton and Pierre Thomas. They reworked the deal of Jairus Byrd, Marques Colston, and Junior Galette. All of this moves made it look like they were entering a full on rebuild effort. However, these were all moves made to get their cap situation under control, and the Saints have added talent as well as big contracts.
They got back C Max Unger in the Graham trade. The signed free agent RB CJ Spiller and CB Brandon Browner. They made the moves they had to make to manage their cap but as long as QB Drew Brees remains with the team the Saints' cap situation is going to remain difficult. That is especially true next year when his cap hit grows to 27 million dollars.
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Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk sums up the cap situation in New Orleans:
"Ultimately, the Saints are going to be in bad cap shape as long as Brees is on the team. Brees has been a great player in New Orleans and deserves the money he makes, but the contract he signed in 2012 is enormous, and it was structured so that the cap hits at the end of the deal are huge. This year, the Saints have chosen to do what they can with the rest of the roster while keeping Brees and staying in bad cap shape. Next year, the Saints may decide it's finally time to get the cap under control, and trade Brees's huge cap hit to another team."
