What the New Orleans Saints' 2026 salary cap situation might look like

6 days ago 2

The New Orleans Saints have done the hard part -- they've found a rookie quarterback to build around. But how can they support Tyler Shough when their salary cap books are such a mess? To hear those on the outside looking in tell it, the Saints won't be able to even field a team next year. It's the same lazy narrative that's been written about them for 15 years now. So let's go under the hood and look at the team's salary cap situation for 2026.

Setting the stage

It's not nearly as complex as what we're used to, but it's still messier than what a lot of teams are working with. Using a conservative estimate of a $295.5 million salary cap for 2026, and assuming the Saints roll over all $8.3 million of unspent cap space from 2025, the team should have a spending limit of about $303.8 million this offseason. That's substantial.

While the Saints already have $204.4 million committed to players under contract next season, they have another $65.8 million in dead money tied up in players who aren't on the team anymore ($36.7 million for Derek Carr, almost $12 million for Ryan Ramczyk, and so on). And there's another $48.2 million floating in limbo with Cameron Jordan, Demario Davis, Taysom Hill, and Foster Moreau playing on expiring deals. Re-signing each of those guys brings that number down. But those aren't easy decisions to make.

Let's assume all four of them leave in free agency or retire in the spring. That would saddle the Saints with a whopping $113.7 million in dead money, taking a big chunk out of their salary cap in 2026. At the same time, that leaves them with just 43 players under contract. Only the top 51 cap hits count in the offseason (and remember, teams are capped at 90 players on the roster), so they'll have to spend a little more money meeting that threshold before they can start coming up with ways to save.

Getting to 51 contracts

Here's another assumption. All five of the Saints' exclusive rights free agents (cornerback Rejzohn Wright, linebacker Isaiah Stalbird, punter Kai Kroeger, and tight ends Mason Pline and Zaire Mitchell-Paden) return on the minimum salary of a little over $1 million each. So do all of the players on the practice squad right now, with cap hits between $885,000 and $1.2 million depending on their experience. That puts the Saints at 64 players under contract with $214.2 million going to their top 51 contracts.

But taken with their $113.7 million in dead money, that leaves them in the red by a little over $24 million. Again, that's not as bad as what we've seen before. It just isn't where you'd like it to be.

How to get under the cap

The good news is the Saints have a lot of options for getting cap compliant. They can borrow from the future where they have next to nothing on the books ($164.5 million in cap commitments for 2027, which drops to just $54.5 million in 2028) by restructuring some contracts. We've seen them do that before and it figures to be their go-to move again. Some obvious restructure candidates are Chase Young (maximum savings of $10.9 million) and Juwan Johnson (saving up to $6.3 million). Extending Chris Olave's contract would change how his deal is structured, potentially saving another $11.5 million.

They could also approach Alvin Kamara about a pay cut. His cap hit is second-highest on the team at $18.6 million, but just $3 million of his $11.5 million base salary is guaranteed. Converting the non-guaranteed portion into incentives like they just did with Cameron Jordan would yield up to $8.5 million in savings. But Kamara would have to agree to that. Retirement is a possibility with him, too.

Other decisions are not so easy. Erik McCoy has the fourth-highest cap hit at $17.7 million, and while cutting or trading him before June 1 wouldn't save the team any money, they could designate him a post-June 1 release and get $10.5 million back on June 2. That could be used to sign their rookie draft class and add free agents before training camp. McCoy was a Pro Bowler in each of the last two seasons but injuries have become a big problem for him. He's only played in 14 games between 2024 and 2025.

And there are a couple of trade candidates we can't rule out. Carl Granderson started the year strong but faded once Chase Young returned to the edge rusher rotation, and trading him before June 1 (in time for the 2026 NFL draft) would save a little over $3 million while probably getting a nice draft pick. Cesar Ruiz has been a sieve at right guard and talks got pretty far at the trade deadline back in November; trading him in time for this year's draft only saves the Saints $12,000 but waiting until June 2 would free up $9.5 million. Neither Bryan Bresee nor Pete Werner have played that well in Brandon Staley's defense, and the Saints could save more than $2 million by trading either of them before the draft.

What we're predicting

It's tough to say. Really. We've got to start with Cameron Jordan, Demario Davis, and Taysom Hill -- those are the first dominoes to fall. Of the trio, Hill seems closest to retirement after the Saints pulled out all the stops to make his last game at the Superdome a day to remember. He just hasn't been the same after last season's knee injury. Jordan may have played his way out of finishing his career in New Orleans. He's played too well and gotten too many sacks for Super Bowl contenders to not line up and price him out of what the Saints can afford to pay him. Davis feels like the one likeliest to stay, but even he could choose to retire. He's the oldest linebacker in the NFL and doesn't have anything left to prove to anyone. We'll guess that Hill retires, Jordan leaves, and Davis runs it back one more time.

Salary cap impact: $3 million in savings by lowering Davis's cap hit

Updated salary cap space: -$21,067,507

Now for the restructures. Luke Fortner did an admirable job but seeing as the Saints wouldn't save any money by moving on from Erik McCoy before the draft, we'll restructure McCoy's contract and hope he can stay on the field in 2026 (saving $6.9 million). We're also going to restructure Chase Young ($10.9 million), Carl Granderson ($8.7 million), and Juwan Johnson ($6.3 million). Now we're in the clear by almost $12 million.

Salary cap impact: $32.8 million in savings

Updated salary cap space: $11,731,493

Let's say Alvin Kamara is willing to accept that pay cut with incentives for touchdowns and snaps played, similar to what Cameron Jordan agreed to (and which he cashed in). That reduces his cap hit to a hair over $10 million and keeps a respected leader in place on offense (saving $8.5 million), giving Tyler Shough two veteran pillars of support between Kamara and McCoy. And we'll guess that Chris Olave gets the contract extension he wants, which the Saints can structure creatively to lower his cap hit from $15.5 million to $8.1 million (saving $7.3 million).

Salary cap impact: $15.8 million in savings

Updated salary cap space: $27,579,493

Now we're talking. That's enough to make some moves in free agency. It's also enough to absorb a dead money charge for cutting a veteran defender like Justin Reid ($11.6 million cap hit) or Davon Godchaux ($7.1 million), or agreeing to trade an underperforming starter like Cesar Ruiz ($14.2 million). And there are other moves the Saints can make to open up even more resources in 2026, depending on how aggressive they want to go. After crunching these numbers, it's clear this offseason won't lack for excitement.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: NFL salary cap: What to expect from the New Orleans Saints in 2026

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