Kellen Moore knew his first year with the Saints was gonna be rough. But the NFL just threw him a major assist. Taking over a team is already a grind, but when that team is drowning in cap issues. It’s a whole different level of stress. The Saints have been walking a financial tightrope, trying to keep their core squad together while figuring out how to stay under the cap. Just when it seemed like Moore was gonna spend his first season fighting an uphill battle. The NFL dropped some game-changing news that might actually give him a fighting chance.

The league just announced that the 2025 salary cap is jumping to somewhere between $277.5 million and $281.5 million. Which is up from $255.4 million last year. That’s way more than teams were expecting, since most front offices were budgeting for a cap between $265 million and $275 million. For the Saints—who were staring at a brutal $47 million cap deficit—this is basically a lifeline. It doesn’t erase all their problems, but it cuts Moore’s misery in half. Giving him and the front office more flexibility instead of forcing them to make soul-crushing cuts.

For Kellen Moore, this couldn’t have come at a better time. Dude walked into one of the messiest cap situations in the league, with barely any room to work with. The biggest thing? Derek Carr‘s $51 million contract, plus a bunch of other massive deals, had the Saints stuck in financial quicksand. Now, with this extra cap space, Moore and the front office actually have options. They can restructure contracts, spread out money, and make moves without completely gutting the roster.

The Saints aren’t fully in the clear yet, but the NFL’s announcement definitely takes some of the heat off Moore. Instead of being forced to dump talent left and right. New Orleans can actually make calculated moves to stay competitive. For Moore, that means a better shot at keeping his offensive weapons intact while also fixing weak spots. As I said before, the cap increase doesn’t fix everything, but it makes the offseason way less of a headache for the Saints’ new HC.

With that little financial boost, the Saints are rolling into the 2025 NFL Draft looking to beef up their roster, especially in the trenches. But that doesn’t mean they won’t grab some skill position talent if the right guy is there. In rounds three and four of their four-round mock draft, they’re supposedly targeting instant-impact players. They might kick things off with Tennessee edge rusher James Pierce Jr. and Alabama O-lineman Tyler Booker in the first two rounds, making sure both sides of the line got some love.

But in round three, they can switch it up and snag a wide receiver, drafting 6’3″, 210-pound Ole Miss baller Trey Harris. Even after missing some time in 2024, he still racked up 1,300 yards and seven touchdowns, proving he’s got the size, speed, and hands to make plays. In Kellen Moore’s offense, which has cooked with big-bodied receivers like A.J. Brown, CeeDee Lamb, and Keenan Allen, Harris is a perfect fit. Pairing him with Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed? Yeah, that’s gonna be a problem for defenses.

The Saints aren’t done stacking size, though-per the mock draft. With their second pick in round three, they are predicted to grab 6’7″, 343-pound Kentucky defensive tackle Deone Walker. This dude was a Senior Bowl standout, and he’s exactly what the Saints need if they’re leaning into a 3-4 or 3-3-5 defense. His ability to eat up double teams and wreck the interior makes him a nightmare for opposing offenses. At 6’7″, 342 pounds, he’s an absolute unit who can disrupt the middle like few others. If his draft stock keeps climbing, the Saints might have to snag him earlier at pick 71 and adjust their plans at pick 93 to grab another receiver or D-lineman.

Either way, they’re sitting pretty when it comes to balancing immediate needs and long-term squad building.

$51M major headache for Kellen Moore’ Saints

The Saints’ cap situation was already a mess, but Derek Carr‘s massive $51.46 million cap hit for 2025 is making things even worse. His four-year, $150 million deal, which he signed in 2023, includes $100 million guaranteed and a $28.5 million signing bonus. That’s a whole lot of cash tied to one player, and with the Saints already $47 million over the cap, they’re in a tough spot trying to make everything work.

The team has a few options, but none of them are ideal. They could restructure his contract to spread out the hit over multiple years. Which would help in the short term but might cause even bigger cap issues down the line. Another option? Cutting him post-June 1. This would save them about $30 million this season, but leave behind a ton of dead money. Either way, the front office has some big decisions to make, and they don’t have much time to figure it out.

To make things even trickier, Carr isn’t interested in taking a pay cut—though he’s open to a restructure. That means the Saints can’t just slash his salary to free up space; they have to get creative. With the new league year approaching fast, they’ll need to decide if Carr is truly their long-term guy or if they need to start looking for a way out. Either way, this contract is looming over the team like a storm cloud. And how they handle it could define their next few seasons.