The Washington Commanders led the NFL in salary cap space heading into free agency in March. Washington, with plenty of holes to fill, was busy, signing over 20 external free agents and retaining some of its own.
Remarkably, the Commanders exited March’s busy free-agency period with over $40 million remaining in cap space.
Now we’ve entered the next phase of the offseason: Post-June 1 cuts, which many teams use to save money on the salary cap over two years. If teams cut players before June 1 and do not use the post-June 1 designation, all the salary cap hit counts on the current year.
Several teams used the post-June 1 designation this year. Washington, which released longtime veterans Charles Leno Jr. and Logan Thomas, did not. The Commanders have used the designation in the past to cut bad contracts, such as Landon Collins most recently.
We now have an updated look at what each team has remaining in cap space, according to Over the Cap. Washington is in excellent shape, with $43.4 million remaining in cap space for 2024 — second only to the New England Patriots ($46.4 million).
If a team cuts a good player for salary cap reasons, the Commanders would be in a prime position to add that player. However, it doesn’t appear that there are any significant cuts on the horizon. Washington could use some of that space to sign players to contract extensions, such as guard Sam Cosmi, or allow it to roll over into 2025.
Regardless of their decision, the Commanders have an extremely healthy salary cap situation for the foreseeable future.