Yardbarker
x
Drew Brees contract restructure places Saints in unenviable position
Getty Images

Drew Brees contract restructure places Saints in unenviable position

The New Orleans Saints already placed themselves behind the proverbial eight-ball when they released Junior Galette this past summer. Less than 10 months after signing the pass rusher to a four-year, $41.5 million extension, the Saints were left eating nearly $17 million of dead money on that deal.

While the Galette situation was brought about due to an off-field situation, the Saints will continue to find themselves in an unenviable cap situation moving forward. It was reported Wednesday morning that the team restructured the contract of quarterback Drew Brees, saving $2.6 million against the cap this season.

This may be a good short-term plan, but it will cause a whole host of cap issues moving forward. Brees, who is currently sidelined with an injury to his throwing shoulder, will now possess the highest cap figure of any player in the NFL next year at a whopping $30 million.

The interesting dynamic here is that New Orleans will probably find itself in a position to re-work Brees' contract following the 2015 campaign, at which point the $30 million guaranteed to him will be pushed back. Considering Brees is set to become a free agent after the 2016 season, this could force the Saints to either commit to him past his 39th birthday or eat a ton of dead money.

Combine this with cap hits of nearly $54 million committed to Cameron Jordan, Jairus Byrd, Jahri Evans, Keenan Lewis and Brandon Browner, and it becomes relatively clear that the Saints are going to be working from behind when the league rolls out its cap figure for the 2016 year in February. Based on the cap increases we have seen over the past two seasons, this means the Saints will have 55 percent tied up to just six players.

The frustrating thing here for Saints fans has to be the fact that the cap itself has increased a great deal since new television revenue started kicking in. Unfortunately, the team decided to kick its cap issues down the road — a decision that's close to coming home to roost.

As it relates to Brees, the hope has to be that the regression we saw last year, and this season prior to his injury, is short-lived. At nearly 37 and dealing with a rotator cuff issue, it's possible that the Saints could be paying their future Hall of Fame quarterback $30 million in 2016 to be a shell of his former self.

At 0-3 on the season and without any real shot at the playoffs, the last thing New Orleans needs is further cap issues moving forward. The problem here is that it really had no other choice. Such is the nature of the beast when you go for the title and come away empty.

It's likely going to be a lengthy rebuild in the Bayou.

Check out Vincent's other work on eDraft.com and follow him on Twitter @VincentFrankNFL

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

+

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.