Teams with best and worst salary cap situations

Jason Fitzgerald

Teams with best and worst salary cap situations image

With the NFL season complete most teams begin to focus on their offseason plans for the new year and at the heart of all roster planning is a team’s salary cap position. For some there is a great deal of flexibility with large amounts of excess salary cap space on hand to improve the team. Others need to scramble to make the numbers work in time for March. 

This week we will look at the six teams that look to have the best and worst salary cap situations in 2015.

Saints

The Saints project to be about $23 million over a $140 million salary cap limit, a number that is far and away the worst in the NFL. New Orleans began heading down this path in 2012 and their 2014 decisions made it clear that the Saints were doing whatever they could to win in 2014 with little regard for the future. They have nine players with cap charges in excess of $9 million. Drew Brees leads the way with a $26.4 million cap charge, second highest in the NFL. New Orleans will likely rework his contract for cap relief, possibly using a voidable contract structure to maximize their savings, which would leave them with a $30 million cap charge for Brees in 2016 and another $10.8 million waiting for them in 2017 if he does not re-sign. Expect veterans Marques Colston and Jahri Evans to be released to help the team be cap compliant.

Chiefs

The Chiefs currently sit around $2 million over the salary cap, but that figure does not include the eventual franchise tag that will be applied to star pass rusher Justin Houston. Once Houston is tagged the Chiefs number will soar to about $15 million over the cap. The Chiefs currently have three players with cap charges in excess of $11.5 million and six over $8 million. The team will have to make a decision on 31-year-old Tamba Hali, who is entering the final season of his contract. If they released Hali they would save $9 million against the salary cap. Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe has been one of the worst values in the NFL for the last three seasons and releasing him saves the team $5 million in space, but leaves them with a $9 million salary cap charge as a parting gift. They may want to work out a contract that includes a large paycut rather than releasing him. If they fail to significantly reduce the salaries of Bowe and Hali, expect the Chiefs to rework the contract of Alex Smith to lower his $15.6 million cap number.

Cardinals

The Cardinals enter the season with four players carrying salary cap charges over $14.5 million, leaving them approximately $8.3 million over the salary cap. Cutting Larry Fitzgerald would free up $9.2 million and go a long way toward helping the Cardinals’ situation next year. At the very least, he would have to accept a massive paycut to remain. The Cardinals should be hesitant to restructure the contracts of their other three big salary cap players (Carson Palmer, Patrick Peterson and Calais Campbell) due to a number of factors, including contract length, health and recent performance. They may be in a position where they cut their mid- tier players for cap relief, a list that could include Drew Stanton if they are confident that Logan Thomas could step up and replace Palmer if Palmer is injured again.

Jaguars

With over $60 million in projected cap space and millions more that could be realized through cuts, there is no team in the NFL that could buy players the way the Jaguars can. Jacksonville could be an attractive destination for some players since they have some skill players in place, drafted a potential franchise quarterback and play in a weak division. They can also offer the incentive of no income taxes in their home state. There may be some concerns among free agents concerning the ultimate destination of the Jaguars, but most likely if a move were to ever occur, it would happen after the effective terms of the contract were complete. If the Jaguars can further improve their offensive line, secondary, and linebackers they can finally turn things around in 2015.

Raiders

For the second straight season the Raiders will hit free agency with a giant cap surplus, this year estimated to be $57.5 million —a number that will grow by $12 million once they release Matt Schaub, Maurice Jones-Drew and Lamarr Woodley. The Raiders took a very different approach to free agency in 2014 than most teams, essentially bypassing more expensive younger talent for older players willing to sign short term contracts with no guarantees beyond the 2014 season. That strategy helped lead to a four-win season in which the Raiders were blown out in too many games. Expect a different approach this time with a focus on high-priced players such as Ndamukong Suh and Jeremy Maclin to try to improve the roster.

Jets 

The Jets are currently sitting with $48 million in cap room, but that number includes a bloated $10.5 million salary for Percy Harvin.  By the time they are done releasing veterans like Chris Johnson and Calvin Pace and reworking the deal for Harvin, they should end up with at least $58 million in room. It has been three years since the Jets were big spenders during free agency and following heavy criticism for not spending in 2014, owner Woody Johnson will most likely want an aggressive plan to rapidly change the image of the team. They should be aggressively pursuing a pass rusher, offensive lineman, running back and help in the secondary. They have the resources to beat almost any offer on the table from another team.

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Jason Fitzgerald

Jason Fitzgerald is an NFL salary expert and contributor for Sporting News. Read more of his writing at OverTheCap.com and follow him on Twitter: @Jason_OTC.