The New Orleans Saints have started the process of working toward getting under the salary cap.

The team previously had been more than $20 million over the anticipated cap of about $121 million. But the first bit of shaving came this week.

Linebacker Curtis Lofton has restructured the contract he signed as a free agent last offseason, according to a league source.

Lofton’s cap figure was scheduled to be $7.1 million. But the Saints were able to drop that number to $3.1 million by replacing a scheduled $5 million roster bonus with a $5 million signing bonus that will be pro-rated over the remainder of the contract.

This is just a first step for the Saints. There likely will be more contract restructures, and some veteran players are likely to be released.