2. Veterans on the chopping block
We’re not necessarily talking about those on the trade block. That conversation will come a bit later. Instead, the focus here is on veterans who might find themselves cut either prior to the start of the new league year or shortly after free agency opens.
It happens every year. Teams perceive that a veteran’s worth is nowhere near where his salary cap figure is. Other players are let go simply because their teams are in bad cap situations.
When looking at the situation this year, the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets have the worst cap problems. Both actually need to shed money in order to be players in free agency. Where as Romo will play a role in what happens with Dallas, the Jets are in a less ideal position.
Future Hall of Famer Darrelle Revis will likely have to take a pay cut or find himself released. That doesn’t even take into account his recent legal issues. The same can potentially be said for both Brandon Marshall and David Harris. Such is the nature of the beast when a team gears up for a title run and falls flat on its face.
This trio is set to count nearly $30 million against the cap, $25 million of which the team can save if it were to release the three. Center Nick Mangold is another name to watch.
It also wouldn’t be a tremendous surprise to see the Kansas City Chiefs release injury-plagued running back Jamaal Charles. At 30 years old and after playing a combined five games over the past two seasons, Charles is not worth the $6.2 million he’s set to make next season. Add in the fact that Kansas City can save that entire $6.2 million by releasing him, and the writing seems to be on the wall. This, despite the fact that the Chiefs’ brass reportedly want to keep him around (more on that here).
These are just a few of the veterans to watch as free agency gets going. Most teams around the NFL are in decent cap situations, so it’s likely the list of notable players released this year will be less than in season’s past. But there’s still going to be a nice amount of cap casualties.