Tag: cap space

Packers rank among bottom 10 teams in available salary cap space

The Packers have the sixth least salary cap space currently, which might explain why GM Brian Gutekunst has gone quiet in free agency.

The Green Bay Packers re-signed kicker Mason Crosby, made two moves before the start of the new league year and brought back a pair of role players, but GM Brian Gutekunst has mostly sat out free agency.

The financials of the situation help show why.

According to Albert Breer of SI.com, only five teams currently have less cap space than the Packers, who – per the NFL’s books – have only $14.8 million in available space as of Monday.

Only the Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, Pittsburgh Steelers and Atlanta Falcons have less total cap space.

The NFL’s numbers align with the numbers kept by Ken Ingalls, a CPA who tracks the Packers cap. He has the Packers at roughly $12.4 million, but his accounting includes the re-signing of tight end Marcedes Lewis, which hasn’t been officially announced.

Over the Cap has the Packers with about $12.8 million in cap space. By their up-to-date accounting, the Packers rank 10th in the NFL in available cap room.

The money doesn’t go far. The Packers still need to pay for an incoming draft class and next year’s practice squad, and teams generally reserve a chunk of money for necessary in-season additions. Per Ingalls, the Packers are essentially tapped out in terms of actual spending money, although GM Brian Gutekunst and cap manager Russ Ball could pull a few strings and create extra room.

The Packers went bargaining shopping early, signing linebacker Christian Kirksey and right tackle Rick Wagner at a combined cap hit of under $9 million in 2020.

Might the Packers be done? Or close to done? It’s certainly possible. Space is limited, and big decisions are coming up fast.

Gutekunst and Ball must consider looming mega extensions for left tackle David Bakhtiari and defensive lineman Kenny Clark, and even potential new deals for running back Aaron Jones, cornerback Kevin King and center Corey Linsley. All five will be free agents following the 2020 season.

According to Bill Huber of SI, the Packers didn’t go after a top inside linebacker in free agency because Gutekunst was reluctant to add another big contract on that side of the ball. Last year, the Packers signed three new starters with big deals.

Teams have ways of working the cap, including converting roster bonuses into signing bonuses and extending players for more years to lower than present year cap hit. The Packers employed that tactic early in the offseason with quarterback Aaron Rodgers. For now, the spending power has mostly dried up in Green Bay.

Report: Chiefs currently have least cap space among NFL teams

At this rate, the Kansas City Chiefs need to free up cap space to be able to sign a draft class.

The Kansas City Chiefs are currently dead last in the NFL in terms of cap space according to a new report.

Sports Illustrated NFL insider Albert Breer shared the NFL’s internal salary cap report from the morning of Monday, March 23. According to that report, the Chiefs have the least cap space in the NFL with $555K. That’s over $2.3 million less than the next closest team, the New England Patriots.

It’s not surprising that the Chiefs are lower on cap space than they were at the onset of free agency. They have club options and ERFA tenders that now count against the salary cap. We’ve recently seen contract details emerge for new CB Antonio Hamilton and re-signed QB Chad Henne. We’re still waiting for contract details for OT Mike Remmers, who also has recently signed with the team.

What is interesting is that Kansas City has only made one move to clear cap space, which is restructuring the contract of DE Frank Clark.

Keep in mind that salary cap reporting is fluid, and without knowing which contracts count against this report, it’s hard to know where the Chiefs truly stand. What we do know is that Brett Veach can create more cap space quickly and in a variety of different ways. Here’s just a few of those potential moves at his disposal:

  • Extend TE Travis Kelce and lower his cap hit for the 2020 NFL season.
  • Sign DT Chris Jones to a contract extension, eliminating his franchise tag number of $16.1 million.
  • Trade/release WR Sammy Watkins, freeing up $14 million in cap space.
  • Trade/release OL Laurent Duvernay-Tardif with a post-June 1 designation, saving $6.9 million in cap space.
  • Trade/release SS Daniel Sorensen, creating $3.75 million in cap space.

These are just a few of the options that Kansas City will weigh over the next several weeks. This isn’t just about having flexibility in free agency either. At the very least, a month from now, they need to have just over $5 million in cap space to sign their rookie draft class.

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Jadeveon Clowney may take 1-year deal to reestablish value

The Seattle Seahawks could pounce on a one-year deal with Jadeveon Clowney if he chooses to go that route and reestablish his value.

The first week of free agency has not gone according to plan for free agent defensive end Jadeveon Clowney.

The market for a defensive end with three sacks last year, and some concerning injury issues, has not reached the $20 million per year threshold he was hoping for.

Now, a report from Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle indicates Clowney may be willing to take a one-year deal to reestablish his value, and his health, in order to reenter the market in 2021 when the salary cap is expected to increase by a hefty margin.

This could be bad news for the Seahawks. Although the team currently has roughly $18 million in cap space, they have a handful of players they could cut or restructure contracts for in order to clear space.

However, signing Clowney to a long-term deal would allow the team to spread some of his money out over a handful of seasons, which could afford them more flexibility in the short term.

Clowney may still ultimately land a lucrative multi-year deal, and it could still come from the Seahawks, but the slow to develop market makes it more likely he’ll take a one-year deal.

Seattle could have an advantage in that Clowney may want to return somewhere he is familiar if it is just for one season, but it will create a tricky salary cap situation – but one that could be worked around if it nets them a bigtime player like Clowney.

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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.