The Washington Commanders are in a position to make some serious moves in free agency. In listening to the general manager Adam Peters recently, it doesn’t sound like he plans to go on a spending spree when free agency opens, though.
Heading into this week’s NFL combine, Washington had over $70 in available salary cap space. On Friday, the Commanders added to that number, releasing left tackle Charles Leno Jr. and tight end Logan Thomas. Washington will also release center Nick Gates when the new league year opens on March 13.
The release of Leno saves Washington an additional $7.2 million in salary cap space for 2024. The Commanders will incur an $8.25 million dead cap charge in 2024.
The release of Thomas saves the Commanders $6.5 in cap space. Thomas’ release has a $1.75 million dead cap charge for 2024.
Gates’ release isn’t a big money-saver for Washington. He signed a three-year, $16.5 million contract last March and still had some guaranteed money remaining. So the Commanders only save $333K in 2024 by releasing Gates and will incur a $5.7 dead cap hit for 2024 to get out of the contract. That’s not surprising, seeing how Gates struggled last season.
Overall, Friday’s moves saved the Commanders approximately $14 million in salary cap space for 2024.
According to Over the Cap, Washington has the second-most cap space for 2024, with over $91.5 million. The Commanders have $80.5 million in effective cap space, ranking second to New England.
Washington has multiple holes to fill in free agency. Will the Commanders look for value, familiarity, or make a splash?
Free agency begins on March 13 with the legal tampering period opening on March 11.