Saints Restructure Janoris Jenkins Contract to Create Cap Space and Could Be Gearing up for Big Move
By Thomas Carannante
As of Monday, the New Orleans Saints were at the bottom of the NFL in terms of available cap space with just over $9 million, which limited them for the remainder of the offseason considering they have to save money for the incoming draft class.
But on Tuesday, general manager Mickey Loomis did some financial tinkering and restructured the contract of veteran cornerback Janoris Jenkins, who was set to carry a cap hit of $11.25 million in 2020. Now, the Saints have an extra $7.2 million in cap space, bringing it to a grand total of $16.22 million.
In restructuring Janoris Jenkins' contract, the Saints lowered his cap number to $4.05M by converting $9M of his pay into a signing bonus, creating $7.2M in space. Jenkins remains a free agent after this season, with the Saints adding two void years.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 24, 2020
This gives the Saints some breathing room if they want to make another addition via free agency. Who might they look to add? Some big and affordable names still available include Everson Griffen, Ndamukong Suh, Damon Harrison, Jason Peters, Devonta Freeman and others.
New Orleans could use some more help along the defensive line (to help out their linebacking corps) in addition to the offensive line considering the injuries they've dealt with over the past few seasons.
The New Orleans Saints and cornerback Janoris Jenkins have agreed to a restructured contract for 2020. Here's what that looks like. https://t.co/kx0miGYR0a
— SaintsNOW (@SaintsNOW) March 24, 2020
The Saints acquired Jenkins in a trade with the New York Giants last season and took on his large contract he signed years ago, but now that he's over the hill in terms of his play, it was only the right move for both sides to work out a restructure. Jenkins still gets his money, and the Saints get more flexibility. It's a win-win.