Report: Saints restructure Alvin Kamara’s contract, continue to get closer to being under the cap

The New Orleans Saints reportedly have restructured running back Alvin Kamara’s contract to help them get closer to being under the cap.

According to ESPN’s Field Yates, the Saints converted over $10 million of Kamara’s 2022 compensation into a signing bonus, which helped the team open up more than $8 million in cap space.

The Saints are in a tough spot cap wise, but they have the means to restructure deals in order to open up some room heading into this offseason.

One of the main reasons New Orleans needs cap space is to bring in a quarterback. Jameis Winston, who started seven games for the team last season, is set to become a free agent. He could, however, find himself back with the team for the 2022 campaign.

Kamara has been one of the most important players for the Saints throughout his career, as he’s scored 68 total touchdowns in his first five seasons in the NFL.

Last season, injuries limited Kamara to just 13 games, but he still finished with 240 carries for 898 yards and four touchdowns. The dual-threat running back also had 47 catches for 439 yards and five more scores.

Kamara likely isn’t going to be the last Saints player to have his contract restructured, as the team was around $74 million over the cap in January.

The Saints went 9-8 last season despite missing Winston for much of the campaign with a torn ACL. The team should also have star receiver Michael Thomas back healthy after he missed the entire 2021 season.

Kamara, Thomas and whoever the team starts at quarterback should form a solid offense for New Orleans in 2022.