METAIRIE, La. — In what has become an annual occurrence, the New Orleans Saints have a whole lot of work to do before the start of the free agency signing period.

The Saints were having to deal with a $21.9 million overage on the 2015 salary cap of $143.28 million in the final few days before teams can begin negotiating with potential unrestricted free agents.

But being well north of the salary cap as the clock ticked toward the beginning of the new league year on March 10 isn’t usually that big of a problem for Saints general manager Mickey Loomis.

At least this time Loomis doesn’t have to worry about a franchise free agent as he did in two of the previous three years when quarterback Drew Brees (2012) and All-Pro tight end Jimmy Graham (2014) were scheduled to become unrestricted.

In fact, Loomis only has a short list of eight soon-to-be free agents to deal with. Still, that doesn’t mean his job will be any easier considering how much fat he has to trim to get down to the cap’s maximum for the top 51 players.

Of course, the Saints could release a couple of players to help things out as well as pick up substantial savings by converting roster bonuses owed to at least four high-priced players — outside linebacker Junior Galette ($12.5 million), safety Jairus Byrd ($6 million), Graham ($5 million) and inside linebacker Curtis Lofton ($4.5 million) — to signing bonuses.

On top of that, there are at least six other veterans under contract who could be targeted for restructuring to help the Saints clear some much-needed cap room to sign a few free agents to help them recover from a 7-9 season.

That group includes Pro Bowl guard Jahri Evans ($11 million cap figure for 2015), wide receiver Marques Colston ($9.7 million), guard Ben Grubbs ($9.6 million), Lofton ($9.25 million), nose tackle Brodrick Bunkley ($6.1 million) and inside linebacker David Hawthorne ($6 million).

Saints officials said during the scouting combine last month that Brees, who carries cap figures of $26.4 million and $27.4 million for the next two seasons, probably wouldn’t be targeted for restructuring this year.

The Saints were well over the cap last season before releasing several veterans — most notably defensive end Will Smith, cornerback Jabari Greer, safety Roman Harper and wide receiver Lance Moore — and trading running back Darren Sproles to Philadelphia. That helped allow them to sign Byrd to a six-year, $54 million deal.

The Saints have already signed three players who were scheduled to become unrestricted: outside linebacker Parys Haralson, kicker Shayne Graham and backup quarterback Luke McCown — to one-year minimum deals. They also signed guard Senio Kelemete, an exclusive rights free agent.