Well, that answers one of the biggest remaining contract questions for the New Orleans Saints. Left guard Andrus Peat was expected to tally over $18 million in 2023, but for now that number will be lots of love. Per Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.comthe Saints and Peat revised his deal, dropping his overall cap hit and saving the team about $9.5 million. The report was then confirmed by NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill.
Peat’s name has been consistently mentioned by analysts in the context of the idea of cutting him after June 1st. However, that would have put the Saints in a few other shackles. The first of these is that they don’t have a clear successor behind them down left unless they wanted to sacrifice the versatility of offensive lineman James Hurst. The second is that even though they would have saved over $11 million using this approach, the relief wouldn’t have come until June 2nd. Long after they needed it during free agency and the NFL draft.
We recently suggested that New Orleans could ask Peat for a pay cut and revamp the deal that way. That’s not the case, however, as there’s little impact on the overall value of Peat’s business. However, it is reallocating the money in a way that New Orleans can plan for how to proceed after short-term cap savings this year.
Now that his contract expires after 2023, according to OverTheCap.com, the interesting game when it comes to peat will now be next season. Are the Saints going for a $13.6 million dead cap? If not, they could work on extending him to a team-friendly deal, or even approach him with an offer befitting his position and role, like quarterback Jameis Winston.
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It could also mean that New Orleans expects to take on right-back Cesar Ruiz’s fifth-year option. Otherwise they would compete in 2023 with both starting lineups in contract years. Seems like something a team would want to avoid, and New Orleans have a simple mechanic to avoid Ruiz being a first-round draft pick. But that’s a decision for later. For now, the Saints are enjoying some much-needed salary cap relief after their busy Wednesday.
Story originally appeared on Saints Wire
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