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Despite handing out contracts to several veterans, the New Orleans Saints currently sit at 2-5 through seven weeks.
The Athletic’s Mike Sando spoke to an NFL executive who called the Saints’ situation a “bad place” to be due to the lack of future cap flexibility.
“When you are doubling down on older, declining players, it is just a bad place to be in,” the executive said.
Sando noted that Cameron Jordan, Demario Davis, Tyrann Mathieu, Taysom Hill and Ryan Ramczyk are scheduled to count nearly $70 million against the Saints’ salary cap in 2025. All five players are over 30 years old with Ramczyk out for the season, while the other four players haven’t been able to prevent New Orleans’ current five-game losing streak.
The Saints are projected to be $81.4 million above the salary cap in 2025, via Over The Cap.
New Orleans initially appeared to be on the verge of a breakout season, winning two straight games to open the year and scoring 91 total points over that span.
The Saints responded with three straight defeats before starting quarterback Derek Carr suffered an oblique strain against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 5. Rookie Spencer Rattler has replaced him under center, but New Orleans has been outscored 84-37 in two games with the first-year passer.
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If head coach Dennis Allen’s team can’t bounce back, the Saints will be on the verge of missing the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.
