The Patriots acquired wide receiver Mohamed Sanu in a trade with the Falcons this week and that required them to do some maneuvering to fit Sanu under the salary cap.
Field Yates of ESPN reports that restructuring the contract of right guard Shaq Mason was part of that process.
Yates reports that the Patriots converted $1.75 million of Mason’s base salary into a signing bonus. That opens up $1.4 million in cap space for this season by spreading the remainder of the cap hit over the rest of Mason’s contract.
Mason had a base salary of $4 million this season and his deal runs through the 2023 season. Sanu is due about $3.5 million for the rest of this year and has a base salary of $6.5 million next season.
