Tag: 2022 offseason

Browns 2022 Mock Offseason 1.0: Finding their way back to the playoffs

How can the Browns get back to the playoffs? Our 2022 Browns mock offseason 1.0 is here to tell you. Cuts, restructures, signings, a trade and a mock draft:

The Cleveland Browns sit at home waiting to watch the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams play in the Super Bowl. It wouldn’t be so bad, the rest of the NFL is doing the same, but the Bengals rebuilt quickly within their division and the Rams signed Odell Beckham Jr. after it didn’t work out in Cleveland.

While those two teams prepare to play the big game, Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski have been busy making plans for how they can get their team back to the playoffs. While the Super Bowl is the goal, the Browns need to get back to the playoffs first.

That is where our first mock offseason comes into play. While we won’t hit on every possible move the team could make, we will take a look at what the start of the league year could bring before getting to a mock draft. The team is likely to make a few more moves at a lower level than we note here but this is the foundation of what could get them back to the promised land.

Evaluating Packers roster and salary cap at S entering 2022 offseason

Breaking down where the Packers stand at safety entering the 2022 offseason, with cap perspective from Ken Ingalls.

Understanding the Green Bay Packers’ needs and offseason plans first requires knowing where the roster stands exiting the 2021 season and entering 2022.

Going through position by position helps paint a clear picture of what GM Brian Gutekunst is facing this offseason, both from a personnel and salary cap standpoint.

Here’s our breakdown of the Packers’ roster at the safety position, with players under contract for 2022, free agents, early thoughts on the position group and a unique cap perspective from Ken Ingalls, a CPA who studies the salary cap:

Roster analysis

Under contract (5): Adrian Amos, Darnell Savage, Vernon Scott, Shawn Davis, Innis Gaines

Free agents (1): Henry Black (exclusive rights)

Early thoughts: This position group looks strong, especially if Black is retained on an exclusive rights deal. The Packers may need to re-work Amos’ deal to help the cap. As long as there isn’t an unexpected departure, safety will be a low-priority position to start the offseason. Then again, the Packers may want to upgrade the third position spot, an increasingly important position in today’s game.

Ken’s cap perspective

Adrian Amos checks in at the seventh-most expensive contract in 2022 at $11.98 million and the Packers could go in any direction with him much like Billy Turner and Dean Lowry. They can restructure, cut, or trade his contract after March 16th, and all would result in roughly $4.7 million of savings while a post June 1 cut designation would jump this up to $7.9 million. An extension isn’t out of the question either but wouldn’t help too much on the cap. Everyone else on the roster is sitting on cheap rookie or minimum deals.  The Packers need to decide on Darnell Savage’s fifth-year option in the coming months otherwise 2022 would be the final year of his deal. They could try to squeeze another $1 million out of his deal via restructure but Savage would rather agree to an extension. Vernon Scott is the only player signed past 2022 as safety suddenly becomes a sneaky need this year.

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Evaluating Packers roster and salary cap situation at CB entering 2022 offseason

Breaking down where the Packers stand at cornerback entering the 2022 offseason, with cap perspective from Ken Ingalls.

Understanding the Green Bay Packers’ needs and offseason plans first requires knowing where the roster stands exiting the 2021 season and entering 2022.

Going through position by position helps paint a clear picture of what GM Brian Gutekunst is facing this offseason, both from a personnel and salary cap standpoint.

Here’s our breakdown of the Packers’ roster at the cornerback position, with players under contract for 2022, free agents, early thoughts on the position group and a unique cap perspective from Ken Ingalls, a CPA who studies the salary cap:

Roster analysis

Under contract (5): Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes, Shemar Jean-Charles, Kabion Ento, Kiondre Thomas

Free agents (4): Rasul Douglas, Chandon Sullivan, Kevin King, Isaac Yiadom

Early thoughts: Having Alexander and Stokes under contract helps, but big decisions are in store here. Douglas produced an incredible season after arriving in Green Bay in October, and you can bet other teams will be willing to offer big deals to get a young cornerback coming off a five-interception season. He’s unrestricted. So are Sullivan and King. If the Packers can’t get Douglas back, retaining Sullivan or King might become a bigger priority. Change is probably coming.

Ken’s cap perspective

Talent at the top, thin at the bottom. Jaire Alexander is currently sitting on the books as the sixth-most expensive at $13.3 million on his fully guaranteed fifth-year option salary. The Packers need to get an extension done to lower this number and lock up Jaire long-term. There are ways within the Packers framework to make Alexander the highest-paid CB in the NFL and still save at least $5-7 million on their cap in 2022. Jaire would balk at the idea of a restructure and has the leverage to get his money now. Eric Stokes and Shemar Jean-Charles were draft picks last year and don’t provide any financial flexibility. Behind them are Kabion Ento and Kiondre Thomas on minimum deals.

The Packers need a talent infusion behind Jaire and Stokes, and many are hoping Rasul Douglas can return. Douglas made comments via the media he would take a little more than minimum to come back, but his agent likely has since advised him against that idea. Douglas is a strong candidate to return but based on what the Packers can prioritize he could absolutely land elsewhere. Chandon Sullivan could be back later in free agency, if not he will still cost almost $1 million in cap from his void years. Kevin King is a polarizing free agent once again and he will cost $3 million on the books if he is not on the roster from last year’s void year restructuring. There is an interesting scenario where the Packers could sign King to an extension before March 16, pay him the minimum, and still save $1.2 million on the cap to be a depth contributor. It may not feel like it, but corner is a critical need for the Packers with key contributors in Douglas, Sullivan, and King all facing free agency.  I expect the Packers to prioritize the cornerback position once again in the draft.

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Evaluating Packers roster and salary cap at ILB entering 2022 offseason

Breaking down where the Packers stand at inside linebacker entering the 2022 offseason, with cap perspective from Ken Ingalls.

Understanding the Green Bay Packers’ needs and offseason plans first requires knowing where the roster stands exiting the 2021 season and entering 2022.

Going through position by position helps paint a clear picture of what GM Brian Gutekunst is facing this offseason, both from a personnel and salary cap standpoint.

Here’s our breakdown of the Packers’ roster at the inside linebacker position, with players under contract for 2022, free agents, early thoughts on the position group and a unique cap perspective from Ken Ingalls, a CPA who studies the salary cap:

Roster analysis

Under contract (3): Ty Summers, Isaiah McDuffie, Ray Wilborn

Free agents (3): De’Vondre Campbell, Krys Barnes (exclusive rights), Oren Burks

Early thoughts: We’ll soon find out how much the Packers actually value the inside linebacker position. Campbell was an incredible find and nothing short of a revelation, but now he’ll enter unrestricted free agency after producing an All-Pro season in 2021. He will be expensive to retain. Barnes should be back, but it’s possible the Packers are done with Burks, a missed third-round draft pick. The three players under contract at the position are probably nothing more than special teams options.

Ken’s cap perspective

Ty Summers is the veteran leader of the group entering the last season on his rookie contract. Isaiah McDuffie and Ray Wilborn fill out the other two spots and are also cheap minimum salary contracts. Krys Barnes should be back under an exclusive rights free agent deal. Oren Burks is an unrestricted free agent who they let go to free agency and maybe finds his way back if still available closer to training camp.

The conversation for this group revolves around De’Vondre Campbell whose contract is scheduled to void in March making him an unrestricted free agent.  If the Packers can’t get a new deal done before March 16th the Packers will be hit with $808K from the void backloading structure coming due. Packers fans surely would like to find a way to keep Campbell around, but I suspect he will not come cheaply, and Campbell could sign an eight-figure per year deal elsewhere. Barnes could end up regaining his starting role by default if Campbell walks and no other names enter the roster. The Packers surely need some reinforcements and replacements, but I wouldn’t count on premium draft capital being used at the position.

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Evaluating Packers roster and salary cap situation at OLB entering 2022 offseason

Breaking down where the Packers stand at outside linebacker/edge rusher entering the 2022 offseason, with cap perspective from Ken Ingalls.

Understanding the Green Bay Packers’ needs and offseason plans first requires knowing where the roster stands exiting the 2021 season and entering 2022.

Going through position by position helps paint a clear picture of what GM Brian Gutekunst is facing this offseason, both from a personnel and salary cap standpoint.

Here’s our breakdown of the Packers’ roster at the outside linebacker/edge rusher position, with players under contract for 2022, free agents, early thoughts on the position group and a unique cap perspective from Ken Ingalls, a CPA who studies the salary cap:

Roster analysis

Under contract (6): Preston Smith, Za’Darius Smith, Rashan Gary, Jonathan Garvin, Tipa Galeai, Ladarius Hamilton

Free agents (3): Whitney Mercilus, Chauncey Rivers (exclusive rights), Randy Ramsey (exclusive rights)

Early thoughts: The team’s plans for Preston and Za’Darius Smith will define the position group this offseason. Neither is expected back at their current 2022 price tag, but re-working both deals (or just one) is a real option. In the event both depart, the team would need to re-invest more resources to help Gary, who emerged as a star in his third season. The Packers have three young backups worth developing under contract.

Ken’s cap perspective

The edge rusher group is going to be one of change in 2022. Za’Darius Smith is scheduled to have the second-highest cap hit on the team at $27.7 million and has probably played his last snaps as a Green Bay Packer. The team would gain $15.3 million by cutting him. There is a chance for a Hail Mary type pay cut or extension but given his $12.4 million dead cap this seems like a fairytale. Preston Smith was at risk to be cut before 2021 but took a $4 million pay cut and contract restructure to stick around. The Packers have several options with his fifth-highest cap hit of $19.7 million, including cutting Preston to save $12.5 million. I think Preston is a prime extension candidate which could save the Packers $6-8 million on the salary cap along the way to pair with Rashan Gary for a few years. Trading either Smith Brother is almost out of the question, again because they would have to carry their massive cap hits past the March 16th cap deadline.

Jonathan Garvin, Tipa Galeai and Ladarius Hamilton have been rotational players behind the Smiths and Gary and the Packers must hope somebody makes a real jump for 2022 with at least one of the Smiths departing. The Packers could try to restructure $1.4 million of cap space out of Gary but he would likely leverage against this for an extension instead; however, with the fifth-year option likely being exercised the Packers are in no rush to extend him. Garvin is the only player under contract beyond the 2022 season and I expect the Packers to make edge a priority in the draft, especially if both Smiths are gone.

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Evaluating Packers roster and salary cap situation at OL entering 2022 offseason

Breaking down where the Packers stand along the offensive line entering the 2022 offseason, with cap perspective from Ken Ingalls.

Understanding the Green Bay Packers’ needs and offseason plans first requires knowing where the roster stands exiting the 2021 season and entering 2022.

Going through position by position helps paint a clear picture of what GM Brian Gutekunst is facing this offseason, both from a personnel and salary cap standpoint.

Here’s our breakdown of the Packers’ roster along the offensive line, with players under contract for 2022, free agents, early thoughts on the position group and a unique cap perspective from Ken Ingalls, a CPA who studies the salary cap:

Roster analysis

Under contract (8): David Bakhtiari, Elgton Jenkins, Billy Turner, Jon Runyan, Josh Myers, Royce Newman, Cole Van Lanen, Michal Menet

Free agents (4): Lucas Patrick, Yosh Nijman (exclusive rights), Dennis Kelly, Jake Hanson (exclusive rights)

Early thoughts: The offensive line group looks strong, especially if Nijman and Hanson are retained on exclusive rights deals. Returning both would give the Packers 10 players under contract along the offensive line. Gutekunst has proven himself capable of both finding cheap veterans and drafting quality linemen, so expect him to use both avenues – free agency and the draft – to keep adding here. One big question: Will Turner return, or will the Packers see potential cap savings there?

Ken’s cap perspective

Like the running back position, this group is loaded with talented starting-caliber players locked up for several years. David Bakhtiari has the third-highest cap hit at $22.2 million. The Packers will absolutely restructure his contract to free up cap space this season, anywhere up to $9.3 million, but may want to go lighter here since they performed a full restructure to get under the cap in 2021 and compounding big restructures creates significant dead cap concerns. At some point his cap hits would exceed those of a franchise QB which is far from ideal. There is a lot of speculation the Packers could trade or cut Bakhtiari since he costs a lot and the team performed well during his 2021 absence, but this is a non-starter topic as it would cost the Packers more to move on than to keep him.

Billy Turner did a full restructure with void years last season and sits with the ninth-highest cap hit of $9.2 million. If the Packers keep Turner, they will push more of his money out again to create up to $3.5 million, or they could cut him and save $3.4 million. I won’t rule out the possibility of holding his deal past March 16th to either trade him and save the $3.4 million or utilize a “post June 1” cut designation to increase the cap savings to over $6 million.

Elgton Jenkins received a $2.6 million proven performance escalator raise for earning Pro Bowl honors earlier in his rookie contract and is heading into his final season but is still considered to be a cheap rookie deal. I don’t see an extension in the works before the season as it would add to the cap cost even with the PPE bump. The Packers could approach him to restructure his deal for $2.4 million of savings but he could refuse and petition for an extension instead.

Lucas Patrick and Dennis Kelly are unrestricted free agents, and I don’t expect either to return. Yosh Nijman and Jake Hanson will return as cheap exclusive rights free agents. Everyone else on the roster are on cheap deals.  While not a big need I always expect the Packers to come away with offensive line reinforcement via the draft.

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Evaluating Packers roster and salary cap at TE entering 2022 offseason

Breaking down where the Packers stand at tight end entering the 2022 offseason, with cap perspective from Ken Ingalls.

Understanding the Green Bay Packers’ needs and offseason plans first requires knowing where the roster stands exiting the 2021 season and entering 2022.

Going through position by position helps paint a clear picture of what GM Brian Gutekunst is facing this offseason, both from a personnel and salary cap standpoint.

Here’s our breakdown of the Packers’ roster at the tight end position, with players under contract for 2022, free agents, early thoughts on the position group and a unique cap perspective from Ken Ingalls, a CPA who studies the salary cap:

Roster analysis

Under contract (3): Marcedes Lewis, Josiah Deguara, Tyler Davis

Free agents (2): Robert Tonyan, Dominique Dafney (exclusive rights)

Early thoughts: Lewis will be 38, but he’s holding off Father Time and is under contract at a reasonable enough price in 2022, creating a tough roster-building decision. Tonyan’s price likely dropped after he missed half the year to a significant knee injury, but he could still move on. Getting him back at a team-friendly price would be big. His receiving ability was missed over the second half of 2022. Even if Dafney is expected to be back, the Packers probably need to add a player or two here. Deguara and Davis are capable role players but probably shouldn’t be counted on to be full-time options.

Ken’s cap perspective

Marcedes Lewis is likely gone, either via cut or a retirement, saving $2.95 million on the cap. Either way the decision needs to come fast as he is due a $2 million roster bonus early in the year and they don’t want that hitting the cap as is. This leaves only Josiah Deguara and Tyler Davis remaining on the roster with no meaningful cap savings available. Robert Tonyan is an unrestricted free agent coming off a season-ending injury and I suspect the Packers allow him to hit free agency – maybe he comes back on the cheap. Unfortunately, if Tonyan doesn’t return he will still cost $1.88 million on the Packers cap in 2022 due to the backloading method the team used to get under the cap in 2021. Dominique Dafney is an exclusive rights free agent and should be back on a $895K deal. The Packers are probably banking on the continued development of Deguara to lead this group in 2022 but should look to add some more puzzle pieces via the draft or free agency.

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Full list of Green Bay Packers free agents for 2022 offseason

The Green Bay Packers are entering the 2022 offseason with 24 pending free agents.

The Green Bay Packers are entering the offseason with salary cap issues and a long list of pending free agents.

General manager Brian Gutekunst must find a way to fit all the puzzle pieces together while working through a situation that requires his team to shave millions and millions off the cap before the start of the new league year in mid-March.

Among the free agents are two of the team’s three All-Pros, five of the team’s wide receivers and four of the team’s cornerbacks.

Here is the full list of free agents for the Packers entering the 2022 offseason, sorted by the percentage of snaps played during the 2021 season.

Jets’ 4 biggest strengths heading into 2022 offseason

The Jets have a lot of needs to address this offseason, but here are a few positions they don’t have to worry about.

The Jets have a lot more needs and weaknesses than strengths heading into the 2022 offseason.

Multiple positions lack clarity and others need serious upgrades. Even more require depth. But there are a few positions that Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh won’t have to worry about this offseason. The list is short, but let’s look at a few areas Gang Green won’t have to fix before next season.

Jaguars roll over most cap space in the NFL

Jacksonville will roll over more than $25 million in unused cap space from last offseason.

The Jacksonville Jaguars entered last offseason with essentially a blank check to improve the roster. But despite leading the league in available cap space, general manager Trent Baalke chose to pinch pennies, making a handful of value signings while avoiding big (and pricey) splashes.

The efficacy of that decision is highly questionable in hindsight, but regardless, Jacksonville didn’t use a large portion of its space. As a result, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that this team leads the league in cap rollover heading into the 2022 offseason by a wide margin with $25.8 million, according to ESPN NFL reporter Field Yates.

It’s a good thing for the Jags that they have a lot of capital to work with, as they have some tough decisions to make, namely when it comes to offensive tackle Cam Robinson and receiver DJ Chark Jr.

Robinson played on the franchise tag this season, and while tagging him again is a possibility, it would be less than ideal. He was solid this season, but he will almost certainly want a deal that puts him in the top class of the league’s blindside blockers. The team drafted Walker Little to potentially replace him, and the rookie out of Stanford impressed in the three starts he made this season.

Chark, meanwhile, missed almost all of his contract season with a broken ankle, making the decision even tougher. However, given the way the receiving corps performed in his absence, the Jags really can’t afford to let him go. Re-signing him should be a top priority unless the team is able to make a move for a free agent like Chris Godwin (who won’t be available right away with an ACL tear).

The roster still has a lot of needs after a disappointing season, but at least Jacksonville, who is projected to be in the top three of the league in terms of available cap space, has the money to make some bigger moves if it chooses to.