Saints Giving Janoris Jenkins a Contract Extension After Restructuring Was Actually a Genius Move

The New Orleans Saints created some cap space on Tuesday when they restructured the contract of Janoris Jenkins. They converted some his base salary to a signing bonus and gave themselves some breathing room to make other moves and prep for the incoming draft class.

Then, on Wednesday, they reportedly gave Jenkins a two-year contract extension worth $16.75 million, and before you criticize it, general manager Mickey Loomis made this move thinking about the present and future.

Loomis created more cap space for 2020 and the team technically isn't tied to Jenkins beyond this season because the next two years are voidable. According to overthecap.com, "the purpose of the void year is to allow a team to pay a player a signing bonus and prorate for more years than actually exists on the contract. Basically its buying on credit with the cap -- buy now and pay later."

Those cap hits look big, right? Well guess what? The Saints pretty much made this a three-year, $27 million deal, with just over $10 million guaranteed, all of which Jenkins will receive in 2020, despite his cap hit only being $5.05 million. The next two years? He can be released without financial penalty, which is where the voidable aspect of it is crucial.

If Jenkins performs, he'll be an asset for the next two years. If he stinks up the joint in 2020, New Orleans was stuck with him anyway, so it doesn't really matter. The extension here is a win-win for the Saints because they freed up cap space in the short term while giving themselves a risk-free option to keep him for the next two years.