In case you missed it, the Saints just signed right tackle Ryan Ramczyk to a 5 year, $90 million extension. With Ramczyk on his 5th year option of his rookie contract the Saints will have Ramczyk for 6 more seasons. This move opened up the cap space for the Saints as Ramczyk was due $11.06 million this season, now Mickey Loomis can spread that money throughout the next 5-6 seasons however he wants. In terms of details of money, here is a look at how Mickey Loomis structured the contract to look like, via Field Yates.
Signing bonus: $19M
Salary by year:
2021: $1,714,824
2022: $10.5M
2023: $14M
2024: $17M
2025: $18M
2026: $19M
2022 roster bonus: $8.5M
His 2021 cap number decreased by $5.55M.
With this extension the cap space for the Saints is around the $11 million mark, via Nick Underhill/overthecap. The Saints now have enough money to sign a free agent who is on the more expensive side or even just sign low key players for depth. The two main positions I see the Saints pursuing now with more cap space is corner and linebacker. The main position being corner, there is no way that the Saints front office is comfortable with the current situation at cornerback two. That’s nothing against Patrick Robinson or Paulson Adebo, but they need to have a plan outside of their current roster, and I believe they do have a plan and that they just needed more money to work with.
At corner I see Gareon Conly being the best option for the Saints at cornerback two. In college Conly played alongside Marshon Lattimore and it’s an extra boost that he’s from Ohio State. The only issue with Conly is injuries and consistency. I’ve mentioned Conly in previous articles over the past few months and it would make the most sense. Obviously there are other options at corner like Richard Sherman, Dre Kirkpatrick, or Steven Nelson, but Conly would make the most sense for the Saints in terms of money and experience and scheme.
For linebacker Kwon Alexander is obviously an option and definitely the best option for the Saints in terms of signing a starter. We saw the energy he brought to the team, his athleticism was exactly what the defense needed and due to his injury, signing him to a contract would likely not be too expensive. The only downside is that with Zack Baun and Pete Werner it puts the linebackers in a situation of who will get playing time. Kwon would have to accept that he might start some games and might now play other games.
The Saints like to play with two backers, so signing Kwon back when you have a second round pick and a third round pick at linebacker could create an issue with playing time. A situation like this however wouldn’t hold back Sean Payton and the front office from signing a player they like. Training camp is approaching, and Sean Payton mentioned how he would like corner and depth at other positions to be addressed. Let’s see what happens.
Written By Kadin Janisch
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