Ravens five-time Pro Bowl guard Marshal Yanda has restructured his contract, creating more salary-cap space for the team, per ESPN's Field Yates.
Yanda reportedly converted a large chunk of his 2016 salary into a signing bonus, saving the Ravens about $4 million in 2016.
That money will eventually have to hit the cap, but will likely be spread out over the remaining three years of his deal. Per Spotrac.com, Yanda's remaining cap hits will now be $9.125 million in 2017, $10.235 million in 2018 and $10.235 million in 2019.
Yanda signed a four-year, $32 million extension in October. This isn't the first time he has agreed to restructure his contract when the Ravens have come asking for salary-cap flexibility. He also did it in May of 2012.
Last offseason, outside linebacker Terrell Suggs restructured his contract to clear about $2.25 million in salary-cap space in a very similar way to Yanda.
The difference is that this year, the Ravens got the work done about two months earlier and before free agency officially opened, giving them more ammunition to be aggressive on the open market.
With Yanda's contract restructured and the reported $6 million cap savings from quarterback Joe Flacco's extension, the Ravens created about $10 million in cap space. Free agency officially begins today at 4 p.m.
