Tag: cap space

Updated Saints salary cap space estimate after in-house roster moves

The New Orleans Saints changed deals for Michael Thomas, Terron Armstead, Kiko Alonso, Patrick Robinson, David Onyemata, and Drew Brees.

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The New Orleans Saints have been active in creating more salary cap space and retaining their own free agents, hammering out contract extensions and restructuring existing deals while also agreeing to pay cuts with a few veterans on the roster’s fringe.

With the NFL’s 2020 salary cap established at $198.2 million, the Saints went into free agency with limited resources. But they’ve gotten creative and managed to re-sign Drew Brees and David Onyemata, while redoing their contracts with Kiko Alonso, Patrick Robinson, Michael Thomas, and Terron Armstead. Here’s where they stand.

Right now, it appears that the Saints are somewhere around $10,515,877 beneath the salary cap. That doesn’t account for the team’s free agent contract with Malcolm Jenkins, which hasn’t been reported in great detail just yet. But if that deal is structured like the others, the Saints should still have ample cap space to work with.

But how did they get here? To start, the Saints extended their contract with Brees, raising his 2020 salary cap hit from $15.9 million to $23.65 million. That’s an increase of $7.75 million, which was nearly accounted for in pay cuts for Alonso (from $8.7 million to $3.15 million) and Robinson (from $4.8 million to $3.45 million). Those two moves resulted in savings of $6.9 million, nearly breaking even on the costs of re-signing Brees.

So with Brees settled, the Saints turned their attentions to the restructures for Armstead and Thomas. They each converted significant portions of their 2020 base salaries into signing bonuses, which is not the same thing as a pay cut. When teams do this, the players get a big check now and raise their future salary cap hits, which gives them more security. The benefit for the team is that it grants them more spending room.

In this case, Armstead’s salary cap hit fell from $16 million to $8,356,260 per Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football. Likewise, Underhill reported that Thomas reduced his salary cap figure from $15 million to just $7 million. That’s a lump savings of $15,643,740.

But we can’t forget Onyemata’s contract extension, which will count for $3.5 million against the 2020 salary cap, per Underhill. While Onyemata’s salary cap hits in 2021 and 2022 will each elevate to $10 million (and he’ll leave behind $2.5 million in dead money in 2023), it’s a short-term boost for the Saints.

While we need the exact year-by-year figures on Jenkins’ free agent contract, for now it’s apparent that the Saints have enough funds to address their needs. And they can create more by extending the contracts of Janoris Jenkins (due $11.25 million against the cap), Sheldon Rankins ($7.69 million on his fifth-year option), or Taysom Hill ($4.641 million, on the first-round restricted free agent tender). They might also extend the contracts of veterans like Larry Warford (whose $12.875 million hit ranks second-highest behind Brees) or Jared Cook (accounting for $9 million in the final year of his deal).

So what does this tell us? The Saints are far from finishing doing business. Expect another busy day of roster moves.

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Seahawks grant Tedric Thompson permission to seek a trade

With a multitude of options already present at the safety spots, the Seahawks are allowing Tedric Thompson to explore trade opportunities.

The Seattle Seahawks have granted free safety Tedric Thompson permission to seek a trade, according to NFL Insider Ian Rapoport.

Thompson, 25, lost his starting job during the 2019 season after struggling to handle the responsibilities in deep coverage as the high safety in Pete Carroll’s cover-3 scheme. He was replaced by Quandre Diggs and immediately placed on the injured reserve, ending his season.

Considering Seattle’s depth at safety heading into 2020, which includes Diggs, Bradley McDougald, Marquise Blair and Lano Hill, it is no surprise Thompson is being given an opportunity to look for employment elsewhere.

If Seattle can swing Thompson for a late-round pick, they will also save $2.3 million in cap space, money that could be used to help shore up other key positions of need, primarily on the defensive side of the ball.

Thompson did record two interceptions and 19 combined tackles in six games last year, and while his flaws are definitely noticeable it’s not hard to imagine a team giving up a sixth or seventh round pick to take a shot on Thompson, as either a depth option at safety or a core special teams contributor.

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Cowboys restructure Ezekiel Elliott, La’el Collins for minor space

Timing is everything, and sometimes it’s nothing at all. After adding Dak Prescott’s sizable one-year cap hit in the form of the franchise tag, and then inking Amari Cooper to a nine-figure deal, one might think the Dallas Cowboys were low on cap …

Timing is everything, and sometimes it’s nothing at all. After adding Dak Prescott’s sizable one-year cap hit in the form of the franchise tag, and then inking Amari Cooper to a nine-figure deal, one might think the Dallas Cowboys were low on cap space.

When word came down the club had restructured the deals of La’el Collins and Ezekiel Elliott, both just signed last year, all of the comments about having to do that in order to make the moves announced earlier ran rampant. They couldn’t be the furthest things from the truth.

Neither player was set to make a boatload of money in base salary in 2020, with each being under $7 million after receiving hefty sums in Year 1 of their deals.

Sure enough, the details came down from ESPN’s Todd Archer; there wasn’t much savings reaped. In fact, they didn’t save any cap space with Elliott’s restructure at all.

Elliott’s restructure could have something to do with the way his future guarantees are set, an agreement made when the contract was signed, or something completely different. Elliott signed a six-year extension for $90 million total last offseason. Collins signed a five-year deal for $50 million total.

Dallas entered the day with around $72 million in cap space under the $198.2 million salary limit for 2020. The Prescott franchise tag soaked up somewhere between $31.5 million and $33 million. If the club structured Cooper’s five-year deal like many other star contracts, his first-year hit is almost guaranteed to be below $10 million.

That left around $30 million in space, meaning the club is around $34 million in space now if they can’t work out a long-term agreement with Prescott.

The club is said to be pursuing Broncos FA CB Chris Harris as a replacement for Byron Jones, who signed with Miami earlier in the day, and is still trying to bring back DE Robert Quinn.

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Seahawks making attempts to re-sign Clowney and Reed

The Seattle Seahawks are planning to bring back both Jadeveon Clowney and Jarran Reed, but cap space limitations will make that difficult.

The Seattle Seahawks are making attempts to re-sign both defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and defensive tackle Jarran Reed, according to a tweet from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

With the new salary cap officially announced at $198.2 million per team, a roughly $10 million raise from last year, the Seahawks some flexibility to work with. However – the anticipated salary cap increase was a tad over $200 million, and this smaller increase could actually work against the Seahawks.

The team currently has roughly $44 million in cap space, according to Spotrac, a solid number that will likely go up if the team releases veteran Ed Dickson, a move they are expected to make to save $3.8 million.

Center Justin Britt is a potential cap casualty as well, and releasing the pair would give Seattle nearly $60 million to work with.

Clowney is almost certainly going to command $18-20 million annually, and Reed made it clear he is looking for more than the $8-10 million many are projecting for him.

Committing half their available cap space to two defensive linemen is a difficult task for any general manager, especially for a team that finished near the bottom in pass rushing last year even with those two in the fold.

Free agency is expected to begin on time, despite rampant concerns surrounding COVID-19, which means the Seahawks can begin negotiating with their own free agents on Monday, March 16.

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Why center Justin Britt could be a Seahawks salary cap casualty

Seattle Seahawks center Justin Britt could see himself released ahead of 2020’s NFL free agency due to being a possible cap casualty.

Following the 2019 NFL season, Seattle Seahawks center Justin Britt has been looked at as a cap casualty by many and could be released by the team in the days leading up to this year’s free agency.

On Sunday, the league announced a salary cap increase of $10 million this season, setting the cap at $198.2 million for 2020.

The Seahawks would save $11.4 million in cap space by cutting Britt, but they would lose one of their best offensive linemen in the process. The team has numerous high-profile impending free agents like Jadeveon Clowney and Jarran Reed and releasing a player with a high cap hit like Britt could assist them in re-signing them.

In recent years, the Seahawks have had a tendency for releasing players before the start of free agency, such as Richard Sherman, Zach Miller, and Deshawn Shead, among others. They could continue this trend in the next few days. However, Britt is said to have been making good progress in his recovery from his season-ending torn ACL, so some may view his release as unlikely.

If Britt is still around after free agency concludes, there is little reason to expect his release but the 28-year-old center’s future could very well be decided in the next few days now that the official cap numbers have been released.

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2020 NFL salary cap falls beneath expectations, Saints with $7.5M in space

The New Orleans Saints received disappointing news on the 2020 NFL salary cap, which was less than expected at $198.2 million.

The NFL has established its 2020 salary cap at $198.2 million, per a report from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. That falls on the low end of estimates, with most expectations suggesting an even $200 million salary cap. The 5.3% rise  in the salary cap is the lowest year-over-year increase since the 2013 season. So how does it impact the New Orleans Saints?

To be blunt: it’s not great. With about $190.7 million on the books for their top 51 contracts in the upcoming season, per Over The Cap, the Saints needed the salary cap to rise as high as possible so that they could maximize their resources in free agency. While they can make a number of roster moves to create more cap space, for now the Saints have roughly $7.5 million with which to spend.

Considering their list of pending free agents includes franchise quarterback Drew Brees and backup passer Taysom Hill (whose expected first-round restricted free agent tender should cost around $5 million by itself), the Saints will have to be as crafty as ever to just retain important contributors, much less find upgrades.

But there’s good news. The salary cap is expected to grow dramatically in 2021 and beyond once new broadcast rights deals are worked out between the NFL and television networks, so the Saints will have plenty of future capital to work with in constructing new contracts. The difficulty comes in projecting just how high the future salary caps might rise.

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Browns release LB and team captain Christian Kirksey

Browns release LB and team captain Christian Kirksey

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After moving on from four players from the 2019 team almost a month ago, the Cleveland Browns have released linebacker Christian Kirksey.

In a statement from GM Andrew Berry and the Browns (via clevelandbrowns.com):

Christian Kirksey has been a vital member of our organization for the last six seasons because of his contributions on and off the field. He has been a strong leader both in our locker room and in the Cleveland community. These are difficult decisions and, in Christian’s case, more challenging because of how well he has represented our team. We thank him for his dedication and wish him nothing but the best in the next phase of his career.

The oft-injured Kirksey was drafted by the Browns out of Iowa in the third round, 71st overall, of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played in 73 out of 96 games and was a starter for 54 of those games. “Kirko” was selected as a team captain and was well-respected in the Cleveland locker room.

With the release of Kirksey, the Browns add another $7.55 million to available cap space going into the 2020 offseason. Overall, this would give the Browns around $65.8 million in available cap room. Additionally, this should not be the last release from the Browns. Speculation has been swirling OL Chris Hubbard and SS Morgan Burnett could be released to create another $8.2 million in cap space.

On the flip side of the conversation, this creates yet another open starting position for the Browns going into 2020. It can be implied by the Browns current roster, second-year linebackers Mack Wilson and Sione Takitaki will see their playing times significantly increase with this release and the impending free agency of linebacker Joe Schobert.

 

Seahawks unlikely to keep Jadeveon Clowney if price is too high

The Seattle Seahawks are not likely to re-sign defensive end, Jadeveon Clowney, if he is too expensive, despite the need for pass rushers.

The Seattle Seahawks are attempting to re-sign defensive end Jadeveon Clowney before free agency begins on March 18 however, there may a large obstacle in the way.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano believe the Seahawks are not likely to compete with other teams in regards to their financial offers, particularly if the price range is between $18 million and $20 million.

To exacerbate this concern, Clowney is reportedly seeking a “market-setting contract” in free agency.

One would think it makes sense to not make Clowney the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL, given that he only totaled 3.5 sacks in 2019. However, Clowney won numerous one-on-one battles and put pressure on opposing quarterbacks, contributing in ways deceptive to some of the statistics.

It is safe to say that Seattle’s pass rush will be extremely limited without Clowney with largely unproven players on the defensive line. With upwards of $44 million in cap space for the 2020 season, the Seahawks will have a massive decision to make in the near future.

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2020 salary cap increase could help Seahawks retain Jadeveon Clowney

The NFL is projecting a $12 million dollar bump in the salary cap this year, which could help the Seattle Seahawks retain Jadeveon Clowney.

The NFL and the NFL Players Association are projecting a salary cap of approximately $200 million dollars per club in the 2020 season, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

That’s a nearly $12 million dollar jump from 2019, when the cap number sat at $188.2 million.

Additionally, the new CBA – which will be voted on by the players as soon as next week – would increase revenue via the expanded playoff picture, which could help see the salary cap continue to rise in 2021 and beyond.

The Seahawks already have more cap space than usual this offseason, and another $12 million in extra room only increases the team’s chances of retaining star pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney.

Of course, every other team is getting the same bump in cap space, which doesn’t necessarily give the Seahawks a distinct advantage in the Clowney sweepstakes.

However – he made it clear after the season he hopes to play for a contender, and many of the team’s with extensive cap space (like the Giants and Colts, who have both been connected to Clowney) had losing records last season.

Seattle is in a unique position to offer Clowney a huge, market-setting contract while still keeping Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner happy with their recent megadeals.

Time will tell if Clowney will get the money he is asking for from the Seahawks or not, but his added cap space should help their odds with free agency set to open in nearly three weeks.

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Chiefs will look to clear cap space with DT Chris Jones on franchise tag

Contract extensions, restructures, cuts and trades are on the horizon for the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Kansas City Chiefs are projected to have $16 million in salary-cap space for the 2020 NFL season before factoring in DT Chris Jones, who reportedly will receive the franchise tag at a projected $15.5 million tender. The team intends to keep Jones, either on a long-term contract extension or at the price of the franchise tag for 2020. With that in mind, the Chiefs will need to begin clearing cap space in order to get under the salary cap, re-sign their own free agents and pursue outside free agents.

There are a handful of ways they can begin trimming their salary cap commitments for the 2020 season. First, they can approach players with a big cap number in 2020 and extend or restructure the contracts of those players. One player that is prime for an extension that could lower his cap number in 2020 is TE Travis Kelce. For a restructure, players would simply be asked to convert some of their salary cap hit into signing bonus. You’re essentially kicking the can down the road with this option, but it’s a good short term fix, which is what Kansas City needs.

The toughest option is to plainly release players and allow them to become free agents. We’ve already been over several potential cut candidates for Kansas City.

One option that has become increasingly palatable is trading some players that might otherwise be cut. While Veach has made it abundantly clear that the team would like to have a player like Sammy Watkins back in 2020, his $21 million cap number is too high for the Chiefs. It stands to reason that they’d explore trading a player like Watkins if a team was willing to come to the table.

Other names that have been mentioned include RG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, S Daniel Sorensen, and possibly even a scenario where the team would pick up the club option of RB Damien Williams and trade him. Quality offensive linemen don’t often become available in trade and the Chiefs could net a mid-round pick in return for Duvernay-Tardif. Sorensen proved his worth in some big moments last season, but the Chiefs could save $2.75 million against the cap if they were to trade or release him. Finally, Williams will never have greater value than he does right now. He’s coming off of a historic postseason tear with the Chiefs. There might not be a market for many 28-year-old RBs, but teams should be interested in Williams on his one-year deal worth $2.8 million.