Report: Michael Thomas, Saints Agree to Restructured Contract to Save Salary Cap

The New Orleans Saints reportedly restructured the contracts of wide receiver Michael Thomas and offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk on Saturday.

According to ESPN's Field Yates, the Saints have converted $14.565 million of Thomas' compensation for 2022 and $18,206,608 of Ramczyk's compensation for 2022, thus saving $26.217 million against the salary cap.

Thomas missed the entire 2021 season because of an ankle injury, while Ramczyk missed seven games with a knee injury.

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The 2021 season was New Orleans' first without quarterback Drew Brees since 2005. In Brees' retirement, the Saints cycled through multiple quarterbacks, as Jameis Winston, Taysom Hill and Trevor Siemian all started games.

Making matters even more difficult was the fact that the Saints were without one of their top offensive weapons in Thomas.

Even so, the Saints still managed to go 9-8 and narrowly missed the playoffs. Despite the scrappiness they displayed last season, there is some concern the Saints are about to enter a downturn.

It is unclear what New Orleans plans to do at quarterback in 2022 and beyond, plus longtime head coach Sean Payton has stepped away from coaching, resulting in defensive coordinator Dennis Allen getting elevated to head coach.

On top of that, the Saints have well-documented issues with the salary cap, which explains the decision to restructure the contracts of Thomas and Ramczyk.

Per Spotrac, the Saints are an estimated $80 million over the salary cap. That is down to the fact that four players have a cap hit of at least $23 million and 12 players have a cap hit of at least $10 million.

Restructuring Thomas and Ramczyk helps, but the Saints will likely have to make some tough decisions in terms of releasing or trading players as well.

Assuming Thomas and Ramczyk stick around for 2022, they will both be key contributors to the Saints' success.

Prior to the 2020 season when Thomas missed nine games because of injury, he had been selected to three consecutive Pro Bowls and was a two-time First-Team All-Pro. His best season came in 2019 when he racked up 149 receptions for 1,725 yards and nine touchdowns, and he was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year.

Meanwhile, Ramczyk missed only one game in his first four NFL seasons from 2017-20, and he was named a First-Team All-Pro in 2019.

The Saints have a chance to remain competitive in the NFC South next season if both Thomas and Ramczyk can remain healthy, but the fact remains that their roster will likely look very different in Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season from what it is now.