The New Orleans Saints entered the 2015 offseason in the worst cap situation of any team in the NFL. To help remedy the situation, the team has told longtime running back Pierre Thomas that he will be released and have begun shopping linebacker Curtis Lofton, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
Saints to release Pierre Thomas, shop Curtis Lofton, per report
New Orleans desperately needs cap relief.
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Thomas has spent his entire eight-year career with the Saints after going undrafted out of the University of Illinois. Though he was rarely a featured back, Thomas proved himself a reliable ball carrier and a highly effective pass catcher out of the backfield. He leaves New Orleans with 3,745 career rushing yards, 2,608 receiving yards and 40 total touchdowns. The team saves roughly $1.74 million in cap space by releasing him.
The Saints can also carve out an additional $4.25 million by trading Lofton, who has served as one of the team's two starting inside linebackers since arriving in 2012. Lofton recorded better than 120 tackles in each of his three years in New Orleans, forcing four fumbles along the way. The trade market may be limited considering his age (29 in June), but fellow inside linebacker Kiko Alonso was just traded after missing all of the 2014 season.
If the Saints can swing both moves, it'll make a significant dent in their massive cap problem. As it stands, they need to eliminate $22,404,015 just to get under the salary cap, per Over the Cap. The team has also considered releasing right guard Jahri Evans and may also need to part ways with left guard Ben Grubbs and receiver Marques Colston, among others.
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