Fat Contracts...

[Mongo3451]

If OTC is correct, we are projected to have 1.4 million in cap space next year.  That's not good considering the free agents we will have.  I looked at a few contacts that may be overvalued and the best scenario.  From left to right (player, cap#, dead money, savings and action taken)

DJ   28,4,24 Trade Post 6/1
Edmunds 17, 2,15  Trade Pre or Post 6/1
Dayo  20,0,7   Restructure
Jarrett  19,4,15  Trade Post 6/1
Johnson  Can't cut, trade or restructure.                                  Gordon 23,2,11 Trade post 6/1 

Chart is ugly.  I don't think a miracle is gonna happen with Gordon or Jarrett.  DJ and Edmunds can get us 39 million back if traded.  Add in 7 mil for Dayo for 46 mil.  I didn't put Sweat, Jackson, Dalman or Thuney on the list, due to them playing commensurate to their value.  They can be traded post 6/1 for savings, if needed.  The bummer of it is that bone of the above has good value being traded to gain picks on the upcoming draft.  For that weed have to look at guys on their rookie contract.  Y'all feel to add or correct, as this is definitely not my wheelhouse.

[Stinger226]

If traded, they will be around draft time, not post 6-1. I don't think they trade DJ, more like restructuring his contract. Edmunds may be the odd man out with the play of Jackson. If they want to keep any of the big contracts, I see many restructuring before they trade them.

[adam]

Post-June 1st moves are really just for operating expenses and vet minimum deals in the late offseason. You can't count on those for use during the actual free agent period or post-draft free agency. 

Moore has a $28.5M cap hit for 2026, not $38M. 

There are a few easy restructures that wont kill the future cap. Moore has a $28.5M cap hit with $23.4M in salary. They could convert a good chunk of the 2026 salary into a bonus and then spread it out over the remainder of his contract (thru 2029). So just say they won't want too much in future years, they can convert $12M to a bonus and save $9M on this year's cap without hurting future years with a ton of dead cap ($3M per yr). 

Sweat is similar, but his deal ends in 2027. So with $20M in salary, they could convert say half of it to a bonus, save $5M this year and only push $5M to next season. Sweat only has $18M left in guarantees after this season, so there is some wiggle room there too. 

I figure they could easily save $12-15M with just Moore and Sweat without too much impact on future years.

Dalman only signed a 3-year deal, so I can see them working on an extension which could save $5M on the 2026 cap. Jackson has a similar deal that also ends in 2027, so they could extend him for 2 more years and flatten the cap hit. Probably another potential $10M in savings if they want to extend either of those guys. 

So that is 4 transactions, saving $25M on the cap, only extending core players under 30 (Jackson and Dalman). 

Then for potential cuts/trades, Edmunds is the most enticing with $15M in pre-June 1st savings. He will almost certainly be a move they act on. The LB Corps needs a rookie contract to balance it out. So if you cut/trade Edmunds, now you are potentially up to $40M in available cap.

Kmet is another option for a cut/trade/restructure. He has a $11.6M cap hit probably as a TE2. There is no way you can pay that/ They could save $8.4M with a pre-June 1st move. However, he is a team-leader, but would he be willing to sign an extension for less money? So a Kmet action would save between $5-$8M.

So restructing Moore and Sweat, extending Jackson and Dalman, cutting/trading Edmunds, and doing anything with Kmet could free up in the high 40s in cap space for 2026 with mainly needs at S, DT, and possibly LB. That seems very doable to me. 

 

I forgot about Jaylon Johnson, who is also in a similiar position as Sweat. Deal ends in 2027, so any restructure would just slide to 2027, so again, if they need some additional wiggle room, they can slide some money into 2027 with Johnson. Probably another $5M if they need it.

[Mongo3451]

6 hours ago, Stinger226 said:

If traded, they will be around draft time, not post 6-1. I don't think they trade DJ, more like restructuring his contract. Edmunds may be the odd man out with the play of Jackson. If they want to keep any of the big contracts, I see many restructuring before they trade them.

Agreed on post 6/1 trades.  They would probably only happen if someone gets hurt on another team.  I posted “post 6/1“ to show the largest savings on cap and dress money.   

Side note: DJ's $ is fixed above.