I get what your saying but at the same time. Next season his cap number is 14mil. But they have the option to release him, which is very likely because his production is not there and his age has caught up, they can simply release him lowering that cap number to 4mil instead of 14mil. Because you save 10mil by cutting him.

Loomis continues to push that cap number back to the later years because if you think about it most of these guys don't even get to the last 2 years of there contract unless they're a elite QB. And they make it up to the players by giving them those bonuses. And even if the Saints feel like they want to still keep a guy like Smith who's value on the market will not compare to what it would be if he were still under his original contract, they can release him trim 10mil off the cap and let him hit the market, offer him a new lower priced contract and if he feels like he can get more else where you're not really losing out because it not you're losing a key part of your team at this point of his career.