It’s no secret that the Patriots aren’t in the best situation in terms of the salary cap. Patriots cap specialist Miguel Benzan currently has New England with just under $30 million in cap space.

This means Bill Belichick will be tasked with retaining his own free agents, signing new ones, and paying rookies with only $30 million. That’s going to be a tough ask, but luckily, there are some moves that they can make to create more space. Who are some players that may be at risk of becoming cap casualties?

1. RB Rex Burkhead

Burkhead is slated to have a cap hit of $4 million, and his release would save $2.4 million of that. The 29-year-old running back had the best season of his career last year in terms of overall production, totaling 581 yards and 3 touchdowns on offense.

New England has a solid stable of running backs right now that includes Sony Michel, James White, Damien Harris, and Brandon Bolden. None of those guys can do exactly what Burkhead can, but a combination of them can make up for his absence.