Tag: cap space

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.

How much cap space do Packers have after re-signing Mason Crosby?

The Packers should have just under $20 million in cap space after re-signing K Mason Crosby.

The Green Bay Packers agreed to a new, three-year deal with veteran kicker Mason Crosby on Saturday.

According to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the deal will pay Crosby $12.9 million over the three years, with $6 million paid during the first year and $9.5 million during the first two years.

The deal should put the Packers just under $20 million in available cap space moving forward.

The money paid out to Crosby – $6 million in Year 1, $3.5 million in Year 2 and $3.4 million in Year 3 – helps paint a picture of the potential structuring of the deal, although not all details, such as the signing bonus, are known.

A simple way to project the structure of the deal would be to assume a $3 million signing bonus, a reasonable amount for a $12.9 million deal. In this scenario, Crosby’s base salary in 2020 would need to be $3 million (to match the $6 million paid out in Year 1), and given the proration of a signing bonus over the life of a deal, Crosby’s cap hit in 2020 would be $4 million ($3 million base salary plus $1 million prorated signing bonus).

Ken Ingalls, a CPA who follows the Packers salary cap, used the $4 million cap hit projection for Crosby’s new deal to show the impact on the Packers’ current cap situation. His calculations put the Packers at just over $19.7 million in available cap space:

The Packers can still add almost $13 million to their salary cap by releasing tight end Jimmy Graham and offensive lineman Lane Taylor. They may need the extra spending power to extend the contract of Pro Bowl defensive lineman Kenny Clark, re-sign right tackle Bryan Bulaga and add any veteran help in free agency.

Crosby’s cap hit was $4.85 million in 2019, the last year of his four-year, $16.1 million deal.

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What resources do the Saints have to work with in 2020 offseason?

The New Orleans Saints currently rank sixth-worst in both projected 2020 salary cap space and in cumulative 2020 NFL Draft pick value.

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It won’t surprise anyone that the New Orleans Saints are strapped for cash and draft picks in 2020. The team’s strategy of maximizing their resources has created a cycle of spending future assets to win now, and it’s resulted in the best three-year stretch in Saints history.

So expect that to continue this offseason. The Saints will not hesitate to trade next year’s draft picks to move up and target a prospect they really believe in, and they’re also willing to get creative in contract structures to fit everyone in beneath the salary cap. The situations in each area are going to change whenever the new NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement is ratified and once this year’s compensatory draft picks are awarded, so don’t look at these numbers as more than well-educated guesses. But where do the Saints stand right now?

We’ll start with the salary cap. The analysts at Over The Cap are working with an estimated 2020 salary cap of $200 million, which has the Saints with just under $9.4 million in cap space. That ranks sixth-lowest around the league, but at least the Saints aren’t starting out in the red this year. However, Over The Cap also lists the Saints with 56 players under contract, which reflects the voided deals with Drew Brees, Teddy Bridgewater, and A.J. Klein; while each of their contracts are up in March, their contracts are technically still on the books. Those three players are the difference between tying for the 10th-fewest players signed for 2020 and the 14th-most, which reflects where teams stand right now in filling out their 90-man offseason rosters.

What about the draft? Tankathon has put together a cumulative value of each team’s current picks, based off the Jimmy Johnson model, and the Saints sit close to the bottom of the pack. That’s because they’ve already traded their 2020 second-round pick (as part of a package that netted starting center Erik McCoy and versatile safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson) and their seventh-round pick (for cornerback Eli Apple, a former starter headed for free agency).

The 2020 Saints draft class currently has a total value of 992.4, which ranks sixth-worst in the NFL. Their only selections in the top 100 will come at Nos. 24 and 88, and their three remaining picks will be pushed back once compensatory draft picks are allotted. Naturally, the established, aggressive Saints draft strategy of trading up means they’ll probably try to make a move on draft day.

So, to recap: for now, the Saints rank sixth-worst in both projected 2020 salary cap space and in draft pick value. But as we’ve seen before, that probably won’t be a big hurdle for Saints coach Sean Payton, general manager Mickey Loomis, and their staff. It’s shaping up for another fascinating offseason in New Orleans.

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Seahawks will face many decisions in free agency this offseason

The Seattle Seahawks will face many decisions in free agency in the 2020 offseason following their playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers.

The Seattle Seahawks have many decisions to make regarding their impending free agents following their season-ending, divisional-round loss to the Green Bay Packers. There are quite a few dominoes waiting to fall in March.

Jadeveon Clowney may be the most notable unrestricted free agent, but Jarran Reed, Mychal Kendricks, Al Woods, Quinton Jefferson, and many others also have expiring deals. There are also restricted free agents such as Jacob Hollister and David Moore for Seattle to take into account and possibly offer tenders to.

The Seahawks also have key players like Chris Carson and Shaquill Griffin entering contract years, potentially putting them in line for contract extensions if Seattle wishes to keep them for the long-term future. And of course, they will have to cope with the losses of certain free agents, as no team can keep everyone and players may seek out bigger paydays from different teams.

And then there is the matter of who the Seahawks decide to bring in. The team should possess around $40 million in cap space for next season, and they could use that to re-sign some key free agents or sign notable players from other teams.

The Seahawks will have their work cut out for them this offseason if they wish to remain competitive next season.

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Should Colts make a run at TE Hunter Henry in free agency?

Hunter Henry should be among the top targets for Indy.

The Indianapolis Colts struggled to find their offensive identity last season as the offense, especially in the passing game, seemed to go stagnant at times. Some of that blame lies on Jacoby Brissett, but the inconsistent performances and injuries in the receiving corps definitely did not help.

With the departure of Eric Ebron, the Colts are in need of another tight end to pair with Jack Doyle, who signed a three-year extension in early December. The obvious answer would be to look for that missing piece in the draft, but there are not a lot of standout tight end prospects in this draft class that really jump off the page.

If the Colts want an instant playmaker that can electrify this offense, GM Chris Ballard should look no further than Hunter Henry. Henry is set to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason and there will certainly be a lot of teams bidding for him.

The 25-year-old out of Arkansas has been with the Chargers for four seasons and has been a key part of their offense. With 136 catches for 1,709 yards and 17 touchdowns in just 41 games played, Henry can be a dangerous threat in any system.

So why will the Chargers most likely not re-sign him? Well, Henry has been somewhat injury-prone in his time with the Chargers. He missed all of the 2018 season with a torn ACL that he suffered in OTAs but recovered ahead of schedule and was active for the Charger’s Divisional Round game against the Patriots.

He also missed five weeks this season with a tibial plateau fracture to his left knee but returned and was very productive. His injury history is somewhat of a concern, but with the combination of speed and size that Henry possesses, he may just be worth the risk.

Frank Reich loves to utilize tight ends in his offensive play designs and that has been apparent with the success Ebron and Doyle have had in the past two seasons. The combination of Doyle and Henry can be compared to the combination of Zach Ertz and Trey Burton, which Reich won a Super Bowl with in 2017.

Doyle is a very good tight end who can be a signature part of this offense, but he can not do it alone. Chris Ballard needs to take the risk and sign Henry to a more modest contract that does not lock him down in Indy on a long-term deal initially but presents the option to do so if he can stay healthy and continue his dominance.

Whoever will be under center in 2020 could have two reliable safety nets with Doyle and Henry. This move could be what turns the offense around under Franck Reich and what gets this young and talented team back in the playoffs. It is time to make some moves with the $96.4 million in cap space.