What can the New Orleans Saints do to dig themselves out of salary cap purgatory this winter?
Entering the new league year in March, the Saints are already $47 million over the cap, nearly double the debt of any other team in the NFL. They'll have to do lots of contract restructuring and spend minimally in free agency just to break even.
At some point, though, the Saints have to start reducing their cap woes for future years if they ever want to have spending power again. And that coudl very well mean trading away some of their veterans.
Safety Tyrann Mathieu, who is on the books for $11 million in the final year of his contract, would be a fairly easy player with whom to part ways. And a playoff contender like the Baltimore Ravens with a need at safety could surely use a three-time Pro Bowler.
On Thursday, Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport pitched a hypothetical trade that would swap Mathieu for the Ravens' 2026 fifth-round pick, waiting until at least Jun. 1 to do the deal because of the money it would save New Orleans on Mathieu's deal.
"The deal makes much more sense financially if the Saints wait until after June 1 to make the move. It means waiting another year for compensation, but it also means far less dead cap and over $7 million in additional savings this year," Davenport wrote.
"Upgrading the league's second-worst pass defense from last season has to be right at the top of the Ravens' to-do list this spring. They should use every option available to do so, including a trade for a veteran upgrade at safety."
Mathieu, 32, hasn't made a Pro Bowl since he joined the Saints in 2022, but he's been extremely productive in the Bayou, racking up 10 interceptions and a pick-six while never missing a game due to injury. He also allowed a stingy 71.7 passer rating in coverage.
One could argue that Mathieu's salary is a bargain for the player he still is, but New Orleans likely isn't going to be close enough to Super Bowl contention to warrant keeping him around anyway. If they can save themselves some future hassle by getting his salary off the books, they probably should.
