The New Orleans Saints signed Justin Reid to a three-year, $31.5 million contract last March. He had a disappointing 2025 campaign, posting the second-fewest tackles and tackles for loss, while recording 11 missed tackles and a 13% missed-tackle rate, and being a liability in coverage. Reid recorded 72 tackles, two TFLs, a half sack, one interception, which went for a touchdown, and six pass breakups across 15 games. He gave up a 73% completion rate, two touchdowns, and a 102.6 passer rating.
Given his current contract, the Saints finding a gem in the third round of last year’s draft (Jonas Sanker), and re-signing Julian Blackmon, Reid was widely viewed as a potential cap casualty. He is scheduled to earn a fully guaranteed $9.25 million base salary with a $11.55 million cap hit in 2026. Since a standard release would cost $6.9 million in cap space and take on $18.45 million in dead cap, New Orleans would need to designate him as a post-June 1 designation, netting $0 in cap savings while incurring $11.55 million in dead cap in 2026 and $6.9 million in 2027.
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New Orleans Saints restructure 2x-Super Bowl Champion’s contract
New Orleans Saints, Justin reid
Dec 21, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints safety Justin Reid (21) heads to the locker room after the game against the New York Jets during the second half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
According to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football, the Saints have restructured Justin Reid’s contract by converting $7.95 million of his base salary into a signing bonus, adding a void extra, freeing $6.36 million in cap space. As a result, Reid’s $9.25 million base salary drops to the league minimum of $1.3 million, while his $11.55 million cap hit falls to $5.19 mllion, per Spotrac. According to *Over The Cap,*the Saints are finally salary-cap compliant.
The Saints have converted Justin Reid’s base salary to open up some cap space, per source.
— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) March 5, 2026
Reid’s $7.95 million signing bonus will be spread evenly over the next five years at a rate of $1.59 million per year, increasing his future cap hits by that amount. Since restructuring his contract increases his cap hit by $1.59 million and his dead cap by $6.36 million in 2027, the Saints would likely designate him as a post-June 1 release next offseason, as a standard release would cost them $120,000 in cap space while taking on the full $13.26 million in dead cap.