The New Orleans Saints want to clear some cap space and they did just that when they converted a part of defensive end Carl Granderson’s contract into signing bonus, according to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network.

“The #Saints’ salary cap-clearing continues: They did a conversion on Carl Granderson’s contract, clearing $7.2 million in cap space.”

Having made that move, the Saints have managed to lower Granderson’s cap hit in 2024 to just $5.25 million. However, the cap relief created by that financial maneuvering only helps them in the short term as Granderson’s cap hits for the 2025 and 2026 NFL seasons are now at $11.73 million and $16.75 million, respectively. In 2026, his cap hit will be at $16.5 million as well.

Granderson is coming off a quality season with the Saints, leading the team in sacks during the 2023 NFL campaign. He posted a career-high 8.5 sacks that season and now has 14.0 sacks in the last two years. The former Wyoming Cowboys star, who just turned 27 last December, entered the NFL in 2019 as an undrafted free agent. In 2022, he signed a two-year, $5.2 million contract with New Orleans and got a four-year extension contract worth $52 million in 2023.

Despite the alteration on Granderson’s contract, the Saints are still way over the cap, with their Top 51-cap space currently over by $29.26 million, according to Spotrac. This could mean that there will be more moves to come from the Saints, who missed the playoffs in the 2023 NFL season with just a 9-8 record, which was only good for second in the NFC South division.