While the loss of cornerback A.J. Bouye is a tough one, it goes without saying it was one made mostly for financial reasons. By trading Bouye to the Denver Broncos, the Jags will eat a dead cap hit of four million, however, it frees up over $11.4 million on the salary cap.
Trading CB A.J. Bouye#Broncos acquire cap/cash hits of $13.4M, $13.5M $0 GTD#Jaguars take on $4M of dead cap, clearing $11.4M of space. https://t.co/TrK0klgkjh
— Spotrac (@spotrac) March 3, 2020
Early in the Combine process, the Jags released both defensive tackle Marcell Dareus and linebacker Jake Ryan, freeing up amounts of $20 million and six million, respectively. That took them from being over the cap to being under it by $21 million. Now, with Bouye’s pending trade the Jags are now looking at a projected amount of over $32 million in available cap space, per Over the Cap.
Heading into the offseason, many speculated that general manager Dave Caldwell would part ways with several cap casualties and Bouye was one of the top names on the list. While he was a solid player, he hadn’t been playing on the level we saw early in his tenure with the Jags and taking a $15.4 million cap hit just wasn’t feasible.
The departure of Bouye, Dareus, and Ryan could point to the Jags spending big in free-agency, as more releases are going to follow. Calais Campbell may be the key name to watch as he’d free up another $15 million. However, the moves made over the past few weeks feel like they were made to help keep the veteran as opposed to getting rid of him.
When looking at some other cap casualties, receiver Marqise Lee feels like a near certainty to be released, as does tight end Geoff Swaim. Releasing both would free up $9.3 million more for the Jags, which would put them over the $40 million mark in available cap space.