It’s troublesome to say a lot in regards to the NFL with certainty when coaching camps are simply opening across the league, however one factor is abundantly clear: The Saints are screwed.
On Thursday night time it was revealed that All-Professional proper deal with Ryan Ramczyk was finished for the 12 months attributable to points ensuing from his offseason knee surgical procedure. Gradual restoration and problems led to Ramczyk lacking OTAs and the veteran minicamp, making the announcement an acknowledgment that the group isn’t assured he can contribute in 2024 — and it would even spell the tip to his time in New Orleans. Latest accidents have been brutal for Ramczyk, who has missed 12 video games within the final three years, which is much extra pronounced as a result of excessive cap determine he’s carried.
It leaves the 2024 Saints with solely a prayer they are often aggressive, and it will get even worse down the road.
The quick impact on the New Orleans Saints
Whether or not or not you assume the Saints may have been aggressive in 2024 is a matter of opinion. A 9-8 staff a 12 months in the past, their largest points have much less to do with strikes they made, and slightly ones the didn’t. Hamstrung by wage cap points, it resigned New Orleans to actually solely making one transfer of be aware — signing DE Chase Younger from the 49ers.
In an effort to make room for Younger the staff successfully gutted its depth. A complete of 21 gamers have been both relinquished or signed with different groups, in comparison with bringing in 15 complete free brokers. The elemental difficulty is that each depth alternative the staff made is a downgrade from a 12 months in the past, with the staff’s core hope being that their starters may keep wholesome.
The staff loses its greatest, most-important offensive lineman with Ramczyk gone. It leaves New Orleans banking on rookie Taliese Fuaga at left deal with, and 2022 1st spherical choose Trevor Penning on the correct. Penning modified positions this 12 months after enjoying so poorly in 2023 they changed him within the draft, and moved him down the depth chart.
This bodes poorly for Alvin Kamara, who struggled with inconsistent offensive line play in 2023. Consequently it places much more strain on Derek Carr to ship at QB, a man who remains to be essentially Derek Carr — a superb stat-stuffer who has struggled to win video games for his whole profession.
Brass tacks: New Orleans is a worse staff than a 12 months in the past, whereas having much less depth — with the remainder of the NFC South bettering.
2024 is barely the start…
The core difficulty with the Ramczyk harm is that it doubtless ends the Saints final first rate likelihood to win the NFC South earlier than they want a complete rebuild. As we mentioned again in February the wage cap scenario for New Orleans is worse than any staff within the league by a mile.
One may argue that the Dallas Cowboys have the identical points, and in some ways they do — however Dallas is struggling to piece collectively a roster that may make room for 3 reputable All-Professional skills in Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons. The Saints have the identical cap issues with not one of the expertise to indicate for it.
Because it stands proper now the Saints are already a projected $88M over the cap in 2025. The roster is affected by guys carrying cap hits method past their expertise ranges, with Alvin Kamara, Marshon Lattimore, Cameron Jordan, Derek Carr, and Ryan Ramczyk projecting to rely for a mind-blowing $160M of the Saints cap subsequent 12 months.
New Orleans banked on kicking the can down the highway and seeing the wage cap swell to cowl their future money owed, but it surely hasn’t occurred at a fee to maintain up with the Saints spending. Consequently the group has ludicrous future wage obligations, and no important wins to indicate for it.
Moreover, the Ramczyk harm is the precise nightmare situation our personal Matt Warren warned about with the chance of restructuring his deal.
“The opposite gamers on the high of the Saints’ cap hit record are principally over 30, so restructuring and including void years is riskier. RT Ryan Ramcyzk, DE Cameron Jordan, LB Demario Davis, TE/QB Taysom Hill, WR Michael Thomas, and SS Tyrann Mathieu all rely greater than $12 million on the cap in 2024 as of proper now. With older gamers like that, they’re extra more likely to fall off a efficiency cliff or retire, and an enormous useless cap hit for them will throw a fair larger wrench within the plan.”
Guess what? This 12 months the Saints re-worked Ramczyk’s deal so as to add void years in 2027 and 2028. Now he may very well be on the verge of retirement, which can activate an enormous useless cap hit for the Saints because of this.
Is there a method out for the Saints?
Not a practical one. Primarily the one method this staff can rebuild and stay aggressive is that if they’ve managed to hit on each single one of their draft picks and proceed to do that for the subsequent 2-3 years. Taking part in rookies whereas slowly shedding their useless weight veterans is the one method out of this, and traditionally the Saints have been an uneven drafting staff. They discover some actually superb expertise, but in addition make some important whiffs — so to financial institution on this group hitting on each choose is little greater than a Hail Mary.
We’re left with a staff that’s an getting older, overburdened camel doing all the things simply to trudge ahead and be efficient. The season-ending harm to Ryan Ramczyk is perhaps the straw that lastly broke its again.
