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With Free Agency starting in one month from today, it seems like a great time to breakdown some offseason notes and take a brief look in on every team to see where they stand
This offseason projects to look much different than what we have become accustomed too. The impending lowered salary cap will be felt. We are used to several teams every year going in way over the SC (s/o Saints) and being able to finagle their way under the cap.
Teams will continue to be able to restructure/extend/add voidable years… to continue this trend, but it won't be as easy as in years past. Since ‘13, the cap has *increased* about $10m a year. Teams have been able to rely on starting a new yr w/ essentially a $10m relief package
However being able to use that built-in $10m relief will not be there this year. Courtesy of @Jason_OTC, the current projected cap for 2021 is $180.5m. Keep in mind the current SC is $198m. So taking into account historical trends, we are looking at a negative $30m flip for '21
Everyone’s favorite saying is “The Salary Cap is a myth.” Well that is true- until it isn’t. Every team will make it under the $180.5m mark for the 2021 season, but it is going to be harder for some teams much more than others and those w/ space will be able to take advantage
What will be left to see is just how many teams and players will work together to take below market short term (1yr) deals, and how many stars work with their teams to move their $ around to lower their 2021 cap hits (s/o @ChaseEdmonds22)
So with all of that said, lets take a look at The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly in regards to projected teams salary caps and their offseason outlooks.
Jax: $77m in cap space. With the 1.01 and the most space in the NFL, look for Jax to make several big FA splashes.
Indy: $69m in cap space. Still waiting for the Wentz trade to go down. But they have the flexibility to do essentially wtvr they want.
Indy: $69m in cap space. Still waiting for the Wentz trade to go down. But they have the flexibility to do essentially wtvr they want.
NYJ: $68.7m in cap space. A few defensive guys to bring back, but should be in the market for oline help to protect whichever poor soul is playing QB
NE: $62.7m in cap space. We will all be see how an angry Belichick looks to take advantage of other teams’ poor cap situations.
NE: $62.7m in cap space. We will all be see how an angry Belichick looks to take advantage of other teams’ poor cap situations.
WFT: $38.8m in cap space. Scherff is their biggest name FA, should be players in the FA market. Mariota trade?
Cin: $38m in space. Say bye to AJG. They should be fighting to be first in line for Thuney. Don't draft Chase, Boyd & Higgins are fine, actually build the team
Cin: $38m in space. Say bye to AJG. They should be fighting to be first in line for Thuney. Don't draft Chase, Boyd & Higgins are fine, actually build the team
Den: $31m in space. Need to resign J Simmons and probably like to keep S Harris. Looks like they want to restructure Vonn’s contract, but not at current $
Car: $28m in space. Lots of potential Oline movement (bye Okung?) Moton needs to get paid. C Samuel may be an odd man out
Car: $28m in space. Lots of potential Oline movement (bye Okung?) Moton needs to get paid. C Samuel may be an odd man out
LAC: $24m in cap space. Cut M Williams, save $15m, use it to go get ARob. Need to figure out Melvin Ingram
Cle: $21.8m in cap space. Need to figure out what they are doing with Olivier Vernon. Can cut/trade Njuko + OBJ for an additional $21m in savings and 0 dead cap.
Cle: $21.8m in cap space. Need to figure out what they are doing with Olivier Vernon. Can cut/trade Njuko + OBJ for an additional $21m in savings and 0 dead cap.
TB: $20m in cap space. Lots of guys to resign, but reigning SB Champs & Brady- guys could be lining up to play here for cheap on a 1yr deal. No state income tax could loom large this szn
Mia: $26m in space. Two 1st rnd picks, no major FA, in a good spot to continue to improve
Mia: $26m in space. Two 1st rnd picks, no major FA, in a good spot to continue to improve
Dal: $18m in space. Dak
Bal: $18m in space. Have a few big name guys they need to figure out- Judon, Ngakoue, and O Brown Jr. lead the way
Arz: $13.5m in space. P2 and Dre Kirkpatrick both FA, Larry Fitz still kicking around, Drake… will need to free up space for lots of FA
Bal: $18m in space. Have a few big name guys they need to figure out- Judon, Ngakoue, and O Brown Jr. lead the way
Arz: $13.5m in space. P2 and Dre Kirkpatrick both FA, Larry Fitz still kicking around, Drake… will need to free up space for lots of FA
SF: $13m in space. @FF_Terminator should write an article about them. Lots of guys to resign and not a lot of money
Det: $6m in space. If they tag KG, curious if it becomes a tag+trade. Theyd probably like to keep Okwara, but will need to make a few other moves to make that work
Det: $6m in space. If they tag KG, curious if it becomes a tag+trade. Theyd probably like to keep Okwara, but will need to make a few other moves to make that work
Sea: $4.9m in space. Please get some oline talent for Russ, and for Russ to stop holding the ball so long. Looks like KJ Wright could be out unless they really make a concerted $
effort to keep him around
Hou: $3m in space. Honestly, the entire org is a dumpster fire
effort to keep him around
Hou: $3m in space. Honestly, the entire org is a dumpster fire
NYG: $1m in space. I imagine they’d love to keep L Williams and L Ryan, but will need to free up $. Zeitler restructure?
Buf: -$200k. Expect J Brown to be cut to free up $6m. Milano, D Williams, Feliciano seem like their big pending FA, not sure they will be able to keep all 3
Buf: -$200k. Expect J Brown to be cut to free up $6m. Milano, D Williams, Feliciano seem like their big pending FA, not sure they will be able to keep all 3
Ten: -$3m. Recent GM quotes saying they wont be able to bring everyone back. How many ppl they can target may be limited. MButler restructure?
Chi: -$6m. Tagging ARob would cost a shade under $18m, so needless to say there is some work to be done here if they want more than ARob
Chi: -$6m. Tagging ARob would cost a shade under $18m, so needless to say there is some work to be done here if they want more than ARob
Minn: -$8.6m. Harris is their biggest $ FA, but he doesn’t project to make his current salary hit. Look for LB’s E Wilson and I Odenigbo to be brought back as long as the money is right. Also feels like a Kyle Rudolph cut is on the horizon.
GB: -$11m. Thanks to the Bakhtiari this number isnt higher. A lot comes down to ARod and a restructure. No easy cuts without decent dead cap hits. Besides Linsley- Tonyan, Lazard, Aaron Jones… all are up for contracts. Never mind being attached to Sherman/Watt.
LV: -$18m. Honestly looks worse than it is. Trading Mariota and cutting T Williams frees up $21m in savings so they have enough avenues to get out of the $18m relatively easily and be able to make some FA moves.
KC: -$22m. This is one of the contender teams that will be interesting to see what happens. They have a few guys to be restructured to open good chunks of cap space- Mathieu, Fisher, Hill… This is a team I could see clearing space and finding some vets for a title run
LAR: -$26m. Frankly I feel like what I said for the Chiefs can just be copy/pasted here. Les Snead’s time as GM probably deserves it’s own thread bc what a roller coaster of bad contracts and dead money
Pitt: -$30m. O Big Ben… Their GM came out earlier today with not the most reassuring quote pertaining to Ben. Everything here centers around what happens with his contract, because it is a beast currently. Could be a down year in Pitt looking for a ’22 bounce back
ATL: -$31m. S/O #2 for @FF_Terminator . I’m just going to straight up steal his tweet since he already laid it out so well
Philly: -$49m. This is a going to be quite the team to watch. We still expect Wentz to get moved, and that dead cap isn’t going to be pretty. They are going to have their big $ guys restructure those hits, which is a plan for the immediate but just kicks the can down the road
NO: -$69m. Speaking of kicking the can down the road! Brees completely restructured to save $20m and it barely made a dent haha Loomis is a lot of people’s salary cap favorite bc he exemplifies the SC isn’t real. We will all be able to see the moves he makes to make ’21 happen
