The Saints have restructured Ryan Ramczyk‘s contract (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com). Now, the right tackle will have a portion of his base salary converted into a fully guaranteed roster bonus for 2022. The move will provide the Saints with an extra $242K in cap room for this year. 
[RELATED: Saints Place Kpassagnon On IR]
Ramczyk inked a five-year, $96MM extension with the Saints over the Summer, a mega-deal with $60MM in guarantees. The original agreement also gave the Saints some sorely needed breathing room — his fifth-year option would have carried a hit of $11MM for 2021; the extension tamped it down to $5.5MM. The restructure lowers the hit even further, allowing the Saints to bring in outside help if even more injuries arise.
Ramczyk’s $19.2MM AAV positions him as the NFL’s highest-paid right tackle. It was something of a no-brainer for the Saints — Ramczyk won’t turn 28 until April and he’s performed as one of the best blockers in the league throughout his career.
Unfortunately, Ramczyk has been sidetracked by injuries this year — both he and Alvin Kamara were held out of last night’s game to the Cowboys, a 27-17 loss that dropped the Saints to 5-7 on the year.