The Indianapolis Colts restructured the contract of defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, saving $2.5 million against the salary cap for the 2023 season.
While a restructure wasn’t necessary, this does give the Colts a bit more room to work with in order to make some moves ahead of the 2023 NFL draft, which is just a few weeks away.
According to Over The Cap, the Colts now have roughly $22.4 million in salary-cap space (fourth most) and roughly $14.8 million in effective salary-cap space (fifth most).
The #Colts are now top-five in effective salary-cap space after restructuring DeForest Buckner's contract (Over The Cap):
– Bears ($30.5M)
– Panthers ($18.2M)
– Lions ($17.5M)
– Packers ($17.4M)
– Colts ($14.8M)— Kevin Hickey (@KevinHickey11) April 12, 2023
The effective salary-cap space differs because it takes into account the projected rookie contracts set to come in at the end of the month.
There is usually a reason the Colts would convert part of Buckner’s base salary into a signing bonus. They wouldn’t do so unless they wanted extra cap space to work with in order to get some type of deal done.
Considering they could have converted almost all of the $18.75 million base salary but chose to only convert $5 million suggests a potential incoming move won’t be a big one.
The Colts still have needs to address in free agency, and they should do so before the draft. Adding to the cornerback room and offensive line are two of the biggest needs for the Colts outside of the quarterback position.
There are potential contract extensions for running back Jonathan Taylor and wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. to consider for later in the offseason as well.
The Colts also can still create some space by releasing quarterback Nick Foles, which would save roughly $2.1 million against the cap.
We should know soon why the Colts decided to convert some of Buckner’s base salary, and they’re now among the leaders in salary-cap space for the moment.
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