Vision Quest: Off season Game Plan 2007 Salary Cap Cuts

As the Redskins prepare for their annual grocery shopping spree in the free agent market. However because of the Redskins philosophy of back loaded contracts and using the free agent pool to replenish leaving or unproductive players each year, they find themselves with a cap management issue. Of course they always find themselves with a cap management issue, and they always find a way out of it. For all their faults Dan Snyder and Vinny Cerrato are the masters of cap management. They backload contracts, give large signing bonus, have roster bonus’ strategically placed they can later convert to singing bonus, restructure contracts, & all kinds of other tricks to dodge the salary cap implications of the free agent splurges.

Cerrato and Snyder are the duke boys jumping the General Lee over the NFL’s Salary Cap broken bridge.

The current state of the Redskins is not dire, but not great either. Currently the Redskins are about 3 million over the cap figure for next year. Not a horrible number considering the propensity for restructuring and contract shuffling the redskins do annually. In fact last year at this time the skins were looking at an 18 million dollar overage and we all know the kind of spending they did last off-season. And unlike previous years the dead cap money (money reserved for players no longer on the team) is less then a million dollars.

Despite this juggling, there still is a price to pay. The Redskins may never be in Salary Cap hell, but they are in a permanent state of heck. By trading away draft picks and misusing the ones they have left they have limited the opportunities to find cheap and talented depth and rely on more expensive veterans. This means that some veterans will have to go in the off-season to make room for the draft picks and any free agents the Redskins want to sign.

So here they are without further delay:

The Players the Redskins Can Do Without 2007

1.) Renaldo Wynn
2007 Salary Cap #: 4.028 million
2007 Savings if released: 2.5 million

The bell may toll for old Renaldo this off season. He is in the last year of his contract and also will be 33 at the start of the next season. With Carter usurping his starter’s position and a relatively high cap figure he is the most likely to be cut for cap reasons this off-season. I personally love Wynn and hope he can be brought back at a reduced rate, but the redskins must reduce the average age of the defensive line.

2.) John Hall
2007 Salary Cap #: 1.965 million
2007 Savings if released: 1.5 million

Whether Sean Suisham kicked well during the last half of the season, the redskins were going to release Hall this off season. His release may be due to his inability to be injury free this last season, but his salary cap number is the kicker (pun intended). In other words we won’t have Hall to kick around anymore (ok ok I know too easy).

3.) Troy Vincent
2007 Salary Cap #: 1.458 million
2007 Savings if released: 1.291 million

You have to wonder if the Redskins were joking when they gave this contract to Troy in mid season last year. I can’t imagine why they would set up a 35 year old player with this kind of cap charge the very next year. I guess it was a good gamble if Vincent turned out to be the starter we all wanted, but with his poor overall performance and the return of Prioleau, Vincent has become a luxury we can no longer afford.

4.) Todd Collins
2007 Salary Cap #: 1.475 million
2007 Savings if released: 1.25 million

Todd will be permanently entrenched as the 3rd string QB this next season. This is a very large cap number for an extra layer of insurance. Campbell is the starter and Brunell the backup for the foreseeable future. We can pay a guy about half as much to hold a clipboard on game days.

5.) Christian Fauria
2007 Salary Cap #: 1.095 million
2007 Savings if released: 1 million

With the emergence of Yoder it is likely Fauria would be reduced to the third Tight end role. This last year Pucillo worked fine at blocking in goal line situations and Fauria is a much more developed pass catcher then blocker. The Redskins will look for a youth candidate to fill the third TE position.

6.) Joe Salave’a
2007 Salary Cap #: .887 million
2007 Savings if released: .72 million

Big Joe has been a warrior the last few years and his cap number is not overly high. But most likely his role will be reduced to 4th string Defensive Tackle (with the likely selection of a draft pick and Golston & Montgomery’s progress last year). Even if we don’t draft a young Tackle, Salavea’s age and probable depth chart location suggest he is a prime candidate to be replaced by a UFA.

Honorable Mentions

These players most likely will not be cut but are prime candidates for restructuring and possible alternate cuts.

1.) Mark Brunell
2007 Salary Cap #: 6.715 Million
2007 Savings if released: 2.086 Million

Brunell is having shoulder surgery in the off season and his age (37 at start of next season) is definitely becoming a factor. However the fact remains that he is the only one of two Redskin quarterbacks in the last 14 years that has led our team to a playoff victory. That means something to Gibbs and most fans. However he has lost his starting job to Campbell now and is not the QB he was in 2005. Most likely he will be competing with Collins for one spot between them. It is unlikely the redskins cut both and revamp the QB position all together, but one is likely to go.

2.) Phillip Daniels
2007 Salary Cap #: 3.1 million
2007 Savings if released: 1.9 million

Again another either or candidate here. Daniels was the starting DE this year and right now he enters the 2007 off season as the likely starter. However his cap number and age (34 at start of season) are both too high for his production on the field. It is doubtful that the redskins will let go both Daniels and Wynn in the same off-season, however if they draft a DE at #6, it could be possible. More then likely the Redskins will choose between Daniels and Wynn.

3.) James Thrash
2007 Salary Cap #: 1.425 million
2007 Savings if released: 1.3 million

James Thrash has been an honorary member of this list each of the last two years. He continues to make the team because of his outstanding intangibles. His cap number keeps growing though and now he is in the last year of his contract. Most likely Thrash stays, but if the Redskins incur any big cap hits (Arch or Lloyd) or some vets refuse to reduce their contracts, Thrash may be a tempting target.

4.) David Patten
2007 Salary Cap #: 3.012 million
2007 Savings if released: .725 million

David Patten’s status really depends on the Brandon Lloyd situation (see the end of this article for my take on that). If Lloyd is released Patten’s veteran leadership and relatively small cap savings will keep him in B&G one more season. If not Patten may not be able to get on the roster this year.

Those are in my opinion the most likely salary cap cuts in February. All together they represent a possible savings of over 14 million dollars, giving the Redskins 11 million to sign their few draft picks and any free agents they wish to pursue. This number will most likely increase as the redskins restructure contracts, possibly from some of the players I listed.

Lloyd, Arch, & Springs

No article about cuts can escape the questions surrounding Adam Archueletta, Brandon Lloyd, and Sean Springs. I wanted my selections to focus on salary cap savings cuts and not those that would not significantly benefit, or actually hurt the cap situation. There has been rampant speculation about Brandon Lloyd, Adam Archueletta and Sean Springs though. In each of the cases a normal February release would actually be a hit on the Salary cap and not a savings.

Of the three Sean Springs is the least likely to fall under the axe despite having the largest cap number on next year’s roster (7.358). Cutting Springs would actually be very close to a wash cap wise as a slight charge to the 2007 cap of less then 100k would be added to his cap number. However then we would be without Springs performance and need to sign a player to retain him. Springs likely has one more year as a corner here in DC and will move to Safety. Next year he may have to restructure or get cut, but not this year,

Lloyd and Arch are pretty much in the same boat. Both players were signed to essentially the same contract and expected to start last season. By the end of the season both had been marginalized and their futures are in jeopardy. However the radical nature of their contract is what is hurting the Redskins. Both players got a $5 million dollar SB and a $5 million dollar roster bonus for 2007. Normal logic would say cut them before the Roster bonus is due and move on with a minimal hot. The problem is they both have a clause in their contract that if the Roster Bonus is not paid then the next three years of their salary is guaranteed. Guess what they equal? $5 million. To cut either Lloyd or Arch you are looking at a 7.572 million dollar hit …for each.

It is not impossible though that one or both may be cut this year, just not advisable. The current CBA allows for the club to cut one player a year in February and shift his cap hit replicating a post June 1st cut. That means that one of these two mistakes can be off the books for about a $1 million dollar savings this year and a $7.5 million dollar cap charge next year. So the Redskins could actually reap some benefits from cutting one of these guys this way. They could also hold onto the other guy (and his cap charge) until June 1 and cut him then, using the savings to help sign the draft picks. But $15 million in dead cap in 2008 would hamstring the team right when Cooley and Taylor will be looking for contract extensions.

My bet is one of them will be gone using the CBA provision described above and the other will get one year to prove themselves. Considering we gave up 2 draft picks for Lloyd and that Arch was essentially benched the entire last half of the season, my guess is Arch will not be back. Lloyd will then have a year to prove himself or suffer the same fate the following year.

That’s it for now. Next week I look at the Redskin Free Agents and who we should invite back. All those wanting to stay a redskin raise their hands….not so fast Mr. Holdman.

Hail to the Redskins!!!!