Saints Cut C.J. Spiller, Now Have $40 Million In Dead Cap

Image via Zimbio

After a little more than one season with the team, the New Orleans Saints have decided to cut ties with running back C.J. Spiller.

I'm told the #Saints have released RB CJ Spiller. He's fully healthy now. Wont be long before someone picks him up.

— Rand Getlin (@RandGetlin) September 13, 2016

Spiller’s tenure in New Orleans will not go down as a memorable one. In 2015, he rushed for only 112 yards and no scores. Spiller did add a decent, yet not spectacular, 34 catches for 239 yards and two touchdowns as a receiver.

The bigger problem with Spiller is that he’s just another representative of how poorly the Saints have managed their roster since winning the Super Bowl in 2009. New Orleans spent much of the last offseason with virtually no cap space.

While the Saints now have just a shade over $9 million, they already had nearly $10 million more in dead money than any other team. With the release of Spiller, that total is only greater.

After releasing C.J. Spiller, the Saints are now carrying ~$40M of dead money on their 2016 salary cap.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 13, 2016

These are the kinds of moves that New Orleans will have to avoid if it wants to again be one of the NFL’s best teams before the career of Drew Brees is over.