INDIANAPOLIS -- New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis has said he doesn't believe in the idea of a total rebuild.
The Saints have maintained that strategy for more than a decade, creating salary cap space each offseason by restructuring contracts and pushing back money into future years. They've operated in this fashion since 2013 after quarterback Drew Brees signed a five-year, $100 million contract, a record deal at the time.
"Every team is either in that cap management mode or they're going to be," Loomis said. "That's just the nature of our sport and the way the cap works."
Loomis said to expect that same philosophy when the free agency period opens on Wednesday. Although it will be the first time they'll go through free agency under new coach Kellen Moore, they won't be majorly changing the process they had under former head coach Sean Payton and his successor Dennis Allen.
"That's going to be our approach every year. ... We're going to try to win every game we can win," Loomis said. "It's what our players expect, it's what our fans expect, what our coaches expect. It's what I expect."
The Saints entered March needing to free up at least $40 million to get under the $279.2 million salary cap and make room to sign free agents before the new league year begins on Wednesday. They're close to that goal already after restructuring the contracts of quarterback Derek Carr and center Erik McCoy.
"I think we'll be able to add a few pieces. It just depends upon the who and the where and the cost right? I expect us to be active," Loomis said during the NFL scouting combine in February.
Loomis said "being active" doesn't necessarily correlate to expensive spending. He used the Philadelphia Eagles signing former Saints linebacker Zack Baun to a minimum deal last offseason as an example. Baun earned All-Pro honors with Philadelphia in the 2024 season and was a key member of the starting lineup before being re-signed to a new deal this offseason.
"You sign these guys at lower level salaries and you never know how that's going to impact your team. Look at Zack Baun and how that turned out for Philadelphia. Sore subject with me," Loomis said jokingly. "That was a fantastic signing. It wasn't on anyone's radar. ... Way back when we signed [linebacker] Demario [Davis], that wasn't on anyone's radar, and that's been one of the best signings we've ever had."
The Saints signed Carr in 2023 despite entering the offseason more than $55 million over the salary cap and signed pass rusher Chase Young last offseason after entering the spring needing to clear at least $40 million in space. Most of the other signings last year were short-term deals for role players.
But they've also missed out on re-signing their own free agents in some of the leaner salary cap years. They moved on from pass rusher Trey Hendrickson in 2021 after entering the offseason about $100 million over the salary cap. Hendrickson signed with the Cincinnati Bengals and has made four Pro Bowls there.
Left tackle Terron Armstead signed with the Miami Dolphins for $30 million fully guaranteed in 2022 after the Saints entered the offseason about $60 million over the salary cap. Armstead missed 13 games in three seasons there but made two Pro Bowls.
The Saints will have to make similar choices this year with cornerback Paulson Adebo set to become a free agent and the contracts of Young, tight end Juwan Johnson and defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon set to void on Wednesday.
Even if the Saints had embraced the idea of a total rebuild, it would have been difficult this year due to the structure of several veteran contracts. The biggest of those contracts belongs to Carr, who the Saints publicly said would be their quarterback in 2025.
That would have left minimal money to work with in free agency because they would have to keep his base salary on the books until June.
The Saints could have signed a cheaper veteran quarterback, drafted one with the No. 9 pick in this year's draft or turned to second-year player Spencer Rattler if they moved on from Carr.
New Orleans agreed to restructure Carr's contract on Saturday, freeing up $30 million and backing up its intent to try to compete this year.
Moore said recently that he feels like they have the pieces in place to do that.
"You can't ever walk into a team meeting or locker room and say we're not competing," Moore said. "We're competing to win the division. That's always been our goal."
Loomis said the decision on whether to compete this year or start over was never a discussion during the interview process. Their talks revolved around general philosophy and what Moore would be like as a coach.
"Look, I'm in the mode of trying to win every game, whatever it takes to win every game, and I know Kellen and really every candidate's that way, that's what you are as a competitors," Loomis said. "You're just trying to win every game. And so that didn't come up because look, I wasn't expecting anyone to have evaluated in depth the roster. That'd be unfair, and particularly for Kellen because he was in the middle of preparing to win a Super Bowl."
The Saints will likely continue to chip away at the salary cap with more restructures in order to sign free agents, future draft picks and eventually establish a salary cap. In addition to the restructures of Carr and McCoy, they also released veteran running back Jamaal Williams last week.
Those restructures will also push money into the 2026 salary cap. Carr, for example, will now hold a $69.2 million salary cap hit next year and have a base salary of $50 million. Depending on how many restructures the Saints do, they could be in a similar position one year from now, once again raising the question -- rebuild or stay the course in order to compete?
"From afar obviously you see that they've handled it for a number of years now," Moore said. "No matter where you are, you're watching the whole entire league. Certainly you recognize the competitiveness this organisation's always had and the creativity they've had. They've always had a competitive roster and I felt very comfortable with the couple of conversations we've had."